Tracy McGrady, Jermaine O'Neal to start player agency

Former NBA players Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O’Neal are planning to team up to launch a new player agency.

McGrady and O’Neal became friends when they were both young players in the NBA. The two were first-round picks in consecutive drafts, and they became friends since they shared an agent and shoe company they partnered with.

According to the New York Times’ Marc Stein, who wrote an in-depth story about the players’ plans, McGrady and O’Neal spent the past few months while they were at home in quarantine talking about things they could do. They decided they wanted to pursue creating an agency, believing they can help young black players. The agency will be called Seven1 Sports Group and Entertainment.

In order to run the agency, McGrady would likely step away from his role as a broadcaster on ESPN. O’Neal is planning to take a test in January to qualify as an NBPA agent.

O’Neal, 41, entered the NBA in 1996 straight out of high school. He made six straight All-Star teams while starring for the Indiana Pacers in the 2000s. McGrady, 41, is a two-time NBA scoring leader and made seven straight All-Star teams in the 2000s. McGrady made the Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2017 and expressed what an honor it was.