If successful, they would become the most prominent players in N.B.A. The name is a mash-up of their jersey numbers from careers that propelled McGrady to induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017 and enabled O’Neal to play for seven teams across 18 seasons and sign player contracts worth more than $150 million. They will call it Seven1 Sports Group and Entertainment. All-Star appearances between them, said in a phone interview that they plan to open a player representation agency this fall.
That contact is about to become more frequent. “For two youngsters to have that type of communication and chemistry, that’s what I always remember every time I come in contact with Tracy.” “It was our first time sitting down and having a conversation,” O’Neal said. “It was just a natural connection,” McGrady said. McGrady, who had also been selected out of high school, with the ninth overall pick in 1997, was a rookie with the Toronto Raptors. O’Neal was in his second season there with the Trail Blazers, who had selected him out of high school with the 17th pick in the powerhouse 1996 N.B.A. They went to an Applebee’s restaurant in Portland, Ore.
Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O’Neal were high-profile teenagers who shared the same agent and sneaker brand in January 1998, when a mutual acquaintance suggested that they meet for a meal.