Tracy McGrady Taunted, Elbows Finger Wagging Player In ‘Cheap’ Shot

In a clip from his Chinese basketball debut, Tracy McGrady is taunted — and handles the insult in a way that does not appear to be a great example of sportsmanship.

Tracy McGrady was taunted mildly in the clip by opposing team player for the Beijing Ducks, Ji Zhe. Zhe and McGrady are shown in the clip during a contentious bit of play in which Zhe follows a shot with a small gesture of insult aimed at the USA player — USAToday explains:

“McGrady and the Eagles were down by 19 to Ducks in a recent matchup when Zhe sank a three-pointer over McGrady … Zhe furthered the humiliation with a finger wag at McGrady, a la Dikembe Mutombo.”

FanIQ was even less charitable on the clip of Tracy McGrady being taunted by Zhe, commenting that the former’s fading star influenced his reaction to the on-court slight and surmising:

“Tracy McGrady and his Qingdao Eagles currently stand in last place in the Chinese Basketball Association. After McGrady arrived to China, the Eagles were not expecting to be win-less with a record of 0-7. They were supposed to be far better with the former All Star … To make things even worse, McGrady’s opponents no longer revere him like they once did. After Beijing’s, Ji Zhe, sank a three over McGrady to put his team up by 22, he wagged his finger in McGrady’s face.”

So what happened after Tracy McGrady was taunted by Zhe? As you can see in the clip below, McGrady responds with a sharp elbow to Zhe’s chest, knocking the player to the floor as Chinese basketball commentators respond in disbelief.

Do you think Tracy McGrady’s response to being taunted was way out of bounds?