McRae attended Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Georgia, where he led the Panthers to multiple quarter-finals appearances, while earning prestigious All-State honors and a nomination for the 2010 McDonald's All-American Boys Game. He played one of his greatest high school basketball games to cap off his career with Liberty County, recording 37 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. As a senior in 2009–10, he averaged 24 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four blocks per game.[2]
Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, McRae was listed as the No. 10 shooting guard and the No. 38 player in the nation in 2010.[3]
College career
McRae with the Tennessee Volunteers in 2014
After appearing in just 10 games as a freshman, McRae played in all 34 games as a sophomore in 2011–12 while earning 15 starting assignments. He also boosted his points per game average from 1.8 as a freshman to 8.6 as a sophomore as he was one of the SEC's top sixth men in 2011–12, coming off the bench to score in double figures in six of UT's last 14 games.[2]
As a junior in the 2012–13 season, McRae appeared in all 33 games with 22 starts as he finished the season as Tennessee's team leader in scoring (15.7 ppg), minutes played (33.6 mpg), three-pointers made (60) and attempted (169), and three-point percentage (.355). He also ranked second in assists (2.0 apg), blocks (0.9 bpg) and steals (0.8 spg) while earning first-team All-SEC and first-team USBWA All-District IV honors.[2]
As a senior in the 2013–14 season, McRae started all 37 games while averaging 18.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game as he earned first-team All-SEC and second-team NABC Division I All-District 21 honors. During Tennessee's four NCAA Tournament games, he led the team in scoring (19.8 ppg) and blocks (1.5 bpg) while also averaging 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.[2]
In his four-year career at Tennessee, McRae played 114 games (74 starts) while averaging 13.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 27.1 minutes per game while shooting 41.7 percent from the floor.[2][4]
Professional career
Melbourne United (2014–2015)
On June 26, 2014, McRae was selected with the 58th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs. He was later traded to the Philadelphia 76ers on draft night[5] and went on to join the team for the 2014 NBA Summer League.[6] In four summer league games, he averaged 21.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game.[7]
On August 29, 2014, McRae signed with Melbourne United for the 2014–15 NBL season.[8] On December 24, 2014, he was named Player of the Week for Round 11 after scoring 30 points twice in wins over Wollongong and Sydney.[9] He went on to earn Player of the Month honors for December.[10] On the season, he averaged 19.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals in 27 games,[11] and finished third in scoring, 11th in steals, 12th in blocks and 13th in assists in the entire league.[12]
Delaware 87ers (2015–2016)
On March 5, 2015, McRae was acquired by the Delaware 87ers, the 76ers' D-League affiliate.[13] He made his debut for the 87ers the following day, recording 5 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists as a starter in a 123–112 win over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.[14] On March 22, he recorded career-highs with 39 points and 13 rebounds in a 124–120 overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Blue.[15]
In July 2015, McRae re-joined the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2015 NBA Summer League, where he averaged 12.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in four games.[16] On September 27, 2015, he signed with the 76ers,[17] only to be waived by the team on October 26 after appearing in seven preseason games.[18] On November 2, he was reacquired by the 87ers.[19] On January 26, 2016, McRae scored a career-high and set a D-League single-game record with 61 points, as well as recording 11 rebounds and 7 assists, in a 130–123 overtime win over the Canton Charge.[20][21] As of March 3, 2022[update], 61 points stood as the 2nd best total (only surpassed on March 23, 2016, by Russ Smith).[22] He was later named on the East All-Star team for the 2016 NBA D-League All-Star Game.[23]
Phoenix Suns (2016)
On January 29, 2016, McRae signed a 10-day contract with the Phoenix Suns.[24] He made his NBA debut later that night, recording 12 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal in 25 minutes off the bench in a 102–84 loss to the New York Knicks.[25] On February 8, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Suns.[26] On February 11, he was assigned to the Bakersfield Jam in order to play in the D-League All-Star Game.[27] He was recalled by the Suns five days later after posting seven points and five assists in 14 minutes off the bench in the East's 128–124 win over the West.[28] He played for the Suns on February 19, scoring eight points in 14 minutes off the bench against the Houston Rockets.[29] His contract expired following the game,[30] and on February 23, he re-joined Delaware.[31]
Cleveland Cavaliers (2016–2017)
On February 28, McRae signed a 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[32] Later that day, he made his debut for the Cavaliers in a 113–99 loss to the Washington Wizards, recording eight points and one rebound in seven minutes off the bench.[33] On March 9, he signed a multi-year contract with the Cavaliers.[34] On April 11, he was assigned to the Canton Charge[35] for a day of training.[36] He was reassigned to Canton the next day to help the team in Game 1 of the D-League Eastern Conference Finals against the Sioux Falls Skyforce.[37] The next day, McRae was recalled by the Cavaliers[38] and that night, he scored an NBA career-high 36 points, along with four rebounds and seven assists in 47 minutes, against the Detroit Pistons, including a three-pointer to send the game into overtime. In overtime, he had a chance to tie it in the final second, but battling leg cramps, he missed two free throws after being fouled on a three-pointer.[39] The Cavaliers made it to the 2016 NBA Finals where they defeated the Golden State Warriors 4–3. Despite the Cavaliers going down 3–1 in the series following a Game 4 loss, they went on to win the series in seven games to become the first team in NBA history to win the championship after being down 3–1.
On June 28, 2016, the Cavaliers exercised their 2016–17 team option on McRae's contract.[40] He later joined the Cavaliers for the 2016 NBA Summer League, where after averaging 24.3 points per game, he was named to the All-Summer League First Team.[41] On December 31, 2016, McRae made his first start of the season in place of the injured Kyrie Irving and scored a season-high 20 points in a 121–109 win over the Charlotte Hornets.[42] On March 1, 2017, McRae was waived by the Cavaliers.[43]
Baskonia (2017)
On August 20, 2017, McRae signed a one-year deal with Baskonia.[44] On January 6, 2018, McRae parted ways with Baskonia. He underwent surgery on his left shoulder in Vitoria-Gasteiz and was expected to be sidelined for five more months, missing the remainder of the season. He was first injured on September 15 and was only able to play four games. He took part in three EuroLeague games, averaging five points and three fouls drawn.[45]
Washington Wizards (2018–2020)
McRae in 2020
On September 20, 2018, the Washington Wizards announced that they had signed McRae to a two-way contract with the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League.[46] On January 18, 2019, McRae set a new NBA G League season-high with 54 points in a win against the Maine Red Claws.[47] In the G League, he averaged 30.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, and shot .849 from the free throw line.[48] On April 9, 2019, the Washington Wizards announced that they had converted McRae's two-way contract to a standard NBA contract.[49]
Denver Nuggets (2020)
On February 6, 2020, McRae was traded to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Shabazz Napier.[50] On March 1, 2020, McRae was waived by the Nuggets after a contract buyout agreement was reached.
On December 27, 2020, McRae signed a contract with the Beijing Ducks worth $1.5M for 25 games.[52][53] He played seven games, in which he averaged 11.3 points per game.[48]
