Tracy McGrady doesn't believe he could have become a better player if he had worked harder.

“I just wasn’t a great practice player,’’ McGrady, a Detroit guard, said in an interview with HoopsHype. “I just wasn’t. I wasn’t.’’

McGrady was brought up by Jeff Van Gundy at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference as a player who was immensely talented, but didn't work hard in practice. McGrady doesn't deny his natural talent impacted how he practiced.

“That could be it,’’ McGrady said. “I just think I could cruise through practice and still be effective. Some guys have to really go (all) out to really have an impact on practice. My ability was just I had God-given talent to where I could just cruise through practice and still be an effective practice player… I was inconsistent. Some days, I have really good (practice) days where I just go hard and a lot of days where like, ‘Uh,’ and I just go through the motions. But I work hard. But I’m just not the best practice player.’’

McGrady’s contention is he worked hard individually, if not in practice, to become a star and someone who still could land in the Hall of Fame. But Van Gundy and Morey were critical of his overall work ethic.

“Tracy McGrady was 1,000 hours of practice,’’ Van Gundy, now an NBA analyst for ABC and ESPN, said sarcastically at the conference. “He should be a Hall of Fame player. His talent was other-worldly. He was given a great leg up in the race against other players. He’s as close as I’ve ever seen to someone with a perfect body and a good mind… I just wish I could have changed his practice habits and his mentality.’’’

McGrady said he reached out to Van Gundy after learning about his remarks.

“I really took it as a compliment,’’ said McGrady. “And Jeff and I talk to this day. I actually talked to him after that. I sent him a text message. I was like, ‘Damn, I heard you were killing me in the media.’ And he was like, ‘No, no.’ But I was just giving him (junk).’’