McGrady, Jermaine O’Neal form player agency

FILE PHOTO: Mar. 20, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Phoenix Suns center Jermaine O’Neal against the Washington Wizards at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Former NBA All-Stars Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O’Neal are launching a firm to represent future players.

The agency will be called Seven1 Sports Group and Entertainment, Marc Stein of the New York Times reported.

“We think it’s needed, and we have a passion for it,” McGrady, 41, told Stein. “We’re around kids every single day because we have youth programs. It just makes sense. We see the lack of information that these kids are getting, so we would be doing a disservice to our people if we don’t lend our expertise of what we know and help guide them. This is a calling that we have.”

McGrady, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017, said he probably will leave his job with ESPN to concentrate on his duties with the agency.

The report said O’Neal, 41, plans to take the test required to become a registered NBA agent early next year and then assume full partnership with McGrady.

Both players went straight from high school to the NBA and were first-round draft picks — O’Neal in 1996 and McGrady the following year.

O’Neal played 18 seasons and earned six All-Star selections. McGrady played 15 seasons and was a seven-time All-Star and two-time scoring champ.