HOUSTON, Texas, 1 July 2004 — Two-time National Basketball Association scoring champion Tracy McGrady will join 7-foot-6 Chinese center Yao Ming next season, forming a formidable combination for the revamped Houston Rockets.

McGrady went to the Rockets here Tuesday in a seven-player swap that sent star guard Steve Francis to Orlando in exchange. McGrady became the first NBA points champion to be traded since Buffalo sent Bob McAdoo to New York in 1976.

Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson announced the deal that sent Francis, Cuttino Mobley and forward Kelvin Cato to the Magic in exchange for McGrady, forward Juwan Howard and guards Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines.

McGrady, 25, became only the ninth man in NBA history to win back-to-back scoring crowns, leading the league in 2002-2003 with a career-best 32.1 points a game and producing 28 points a game this past season, his seventh in the NBA.

With Shaquille O’Neal calling for a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers and guard Kobe Bryant, Yao and McGrady could form the most prolific center-guard duo in the NBA.

O’Neal and Bryant paced the NBA’s top such duos with 45.4 points a game last season, while McGrady and Howard combined for 45.0 points a game. Add Yao and McGrady’s averages from last season and they equal 45.5 points a game.

Only retired legends Wilt Chamberlain and McAdoo won multiple scoring titles at a younger age than McGrady, who followed Bryant as the second-youngest player all-time to reach 10,000 career points.

The four-time NBA All-Star averaged 21.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.32 steals and 1.17 blocks in 487 career games with Toronto and Orlando. But despite McGrady’s skills, the Magic finished with the NBA’s worst record.

Yao, Houston’s dominant force inside, led the Rockets to their first playoff berth in five years. While Yao should benefit from McGrady’s playmaking skills, the Rockets will have to adjust to the absence of Francis, who averaged 19.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists in five years with the Rockets.

The Magic also landed Mobley, who averaged 17.1 points and 4.0 rebounds in six seasons with Houston, and Cato, who averaged 6.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in five seasons with the Rockets.