15-Year Orlandoversary: McGrady Scores 62 vs. Wizards

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The Orlando Magic have had no shortage of talented players come through the City Beautiful over the years from a young Shaquille O'Neal to aged Hall of Famers like Dominique Wilkins and Patrick Ewing. None of them however, did what Tracy McGrady did against the Washington Wizards on this day 15 years ago.

Eyes weren't exactly on the TD Waterhouse Centre on March 10, 2004 as the Washington Wizards visited the Orlando Magic. The teams were scraping the bottom of the Eastern Conference with records of 20-42 and 18-48, respectively.

Early on, it looked like defenses might dominate the contest as the Magic led just 15-14 after a quarter. But by the time all was said and done, it was a performance for the ages as McGrady scored an Orlando franchise record 62 points in the 108-99 Magic victory, eclipsing the 53 points scored by O'Neal a decade earlier.

McGrady finished 20-for-37 from the field in the victory while grabbing 10 rebounds. Despite the 62-point scoring effort, one could argue that McGrady left points on the floor as he finished just 5 of 14 from deep and missed nine free throws, going 17-for-26 from the stripe.

Juwon Howard added 14 points and 15 rebounds in the victory while Tyronn Lue chipped in with 10.

While McGrady stole the show, Washington's star was too shabby himself that night as Gilbert Arenas paced the Wizards with 40 points. Christian Laettner and Etan Thomas each grabbed double-doubles in the losing effort.

15 years later, McGrady's performance remains a franchise record. In fact, no Magic player has even managed to hit the 50-point mark since.

McGrady's monster night would serve as something as a swan song unfortunately. That would be the final victory for Orlando with McGrady in the lineup as it proceeded to lose the next 13 games before winning the final two of the season without the superstar.

The 2003-04 campaign would be the only one for McGrady in Orlando that did not result in a playoff appearance. In the offseason, McGrady would be traded to the Houston Rockets. As a team, the Magic finished with a record of just 21-61, which at the time, tied for the worst in franchise history.

Mike Ferguson is the founder of Magic Memories. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.