JaVale McGee

At 36 years old, JaVale McGee has this physical status:

JaVale Lindy McGee (born January 19, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He was selected 18th overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2008 NBA draft.

He is a two-time NBA champion, having won consecutive titles with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018 before signing with the Lakers.

Personal life

McGee's father, 6-foot-10-inch (2.08 m) George Montgomery, was a 1985 draft second-round selection by the Portland Trail Blazers, though he did not play for the team. His mother, 6-foot-3-inch (1.91 m) Pamela McGee, was a University of Southern California standout, playing with her twin sister, Paula, with them, joined by Cheryl Miller, winning two NCAA Division One championships, in 1983 and 1984. That had followed two Michigan state championships at Northern Flint High School. She won an Olympic gold medal in 1984. Besides playing in France, Italy and Brazil, she was drafted in the 1997 WNBA draft by the Sacramento Monarchs. She starred for the Los Angeles Sparks and Sacramento Monarchs. McGee is the first son of a WNBA player to ever play in the NBA. His younger half-sister, Imani McGee-Stafford, is also a professional basketball player who previously played in the WNBA for both the Chicago Sky and the Atlanta Dream. His mother, with a degree in economics, balanced her international basketball career with raising both children, homeschooling, coaching and teaching school in the offseason, though the formidable tasks were not without controversy. McGee is also cousins with former NFL defensive end Jarron Gilbert.

In 2013, it was announced that McGee would be starring in his own reality television show, Mom's Got Game, with his mother. McGee had the largest documented armspan of any current NBA player at 7 ft 6.5 in (2.30 m) until the Nuggets drafted Rudy Gobert, with an armspan at 7 ft 8.5 in (2.35 m) in the 2013 NBA draft. McGee has been featured regularly on Inside the NBA's basketball blooper feature "Shaqtin' a Fool", earning the nickname "Tragic Bronson", a play on Magic Johnson, from Shaquille O'Neal. McGee has expressed displeasure at his frequent appearance on the segment. McGee became a full-time vegan in the summer of 2017. He had dabbled with the diet for a few years, using it before each season to lose weight. He committed to it full-time after seeing how his body responded during the Warriors' championship season in 2016–17.

McGee is also a record producer under the moniker Pierre. He has a studio in Inglewood and released his self-titled debut album in 2018. In 2020, he co-produced "Available" with Poo Bear and Sasha Sirota on Justin Bieber's record, Changes.

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High school and college career

McGee was born in Flint, Michigan, and Providence Christian, before going to Hales Franciscan High School in Chicago. McGee's natural position in college, according to Hales Franciscan coach Gary London, was ideally small forward, and he could play both forward positions. McGee was the University of Nevada's starting center. McGee, who shot 53% from the field and 33% from three-point range, wanted to recruit an agent and declare for the 2008 NBA draft following his sophomore campaign, in which he averaged 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds, shooting 53% from the field and 33% from three-point range.

Professional career

In the 2008 NBA draft, McGee was ranked 18th overall by the Wizards. He agreed to a two-year, $2.4 million contract with the Wizards on July 9, 2008.

McGee was fined $10,000 by the Wizards on January 9, 2010 for playing in Gilbert Arenas' antics before a game against the Philadelphia 76ers on January 5, 2010. Arenas were being investigated for a prior incident involving guns in the Wizards' locker room, but denied the allegations by pointing his finger at his teammates as if he were shooting them. His coworkers were caught smiling and joking with him.

McGee was selected to compete in the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest on January 6, 2011. McGee was the first Wizard to participate in the competition. He finished in second place, behind Blake Griffin, who was ranked second. McGee was the first player to use three balls at once in a dunk tournament, which was later recognized by Guinness World Records as the most basketballs dunked in a single jump. John Wall, his teammate, was given the third ball.

McGee earned his first triple-double on March 15, 2011, scoring 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 blocks in a 98-79 loss to the Chicago Bulls. On March 23, 2001, Keon Clark had 12 blocks for his career, the most since he had 12 blocks. However, he received some flak for missing ten points in the fourth quarter to ensure he did not score ten points while his team was being blown out, and even received a technical foul for excessive celebration after a dunk for his final points. It was described as a "poor triple-double" by television commentator Kevin McHale. "I got a triple-double," McGee said in reaction to the criticism.

Who can say they got a triple-double?

I'm not particularly worried about it."

NBPA executives met with around 30 players on October 14 during the 2011 NBA lockout and stressed unity. McGee left the meeting early and told reporters that there were some players "saying that they're ready to leave," but the majority was united. McGee denied mentioning that players were about to leave, but journalists caught his remark. McGee had "no ability to make that remark" based on the short time he was on the meeting, according to Derek Fisher.

McGee with the Wizards averaged over ten points and eight rebounds in 2010-11 and 2011-12.

McGee and Ronny Turiaf were traded to the Nuggets on March 15, 2012, with Nenê being traded to the Wizards alongside Ronny Turiaf. He appeared in 40 of the 41 games in which he appeared; with the Nuggets, he would debut in 5 of the 20 games in which he appeared. His minutes would be reduced as a result of 27.4 with Washington but 20.6 with Denver. McGee made the game-winning dunk on his Nuggets debut on March 21, after an Arron Afflalo missed free throw with 5 seconds remaining on the clock. The Nuggets earned the West's sixth seed in the 2012 NBA Playoffs, McGee's first playoff appearance in his career. In Game 5 against first-round opponents Los Angeles Lakers, McGee's series-high was 21 points. McGee's numbers varied throughout the game, including Game 7, where he scored just 6 points on 1–7 shooting in 32 minutes of floor time. McGee re-signed with the Nuggets on a four-year, $44 million deal on July 18, 2012.

McGee's 2013-2014 season came to an end on February 20, 2014, when he underwent surgery to fix a stress fracture in his left tibia, which he suffered on November 8, 2013.

McGee made his Nuggets debut on October 29, 2014, winning by 2 points and 2 rebounds in the season's first 89–79 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

McGee was traded by the Philadelphia 76ers, as well as the right to Chukwudiebere Maduabum and a 2015 first-round pick, in exchange for the right to Cenk Akyol on February 19, 2015. After appearing in six games, the 76ers released him on March 1, 2015.

McGee signed with the Dallas Mavericks on August 13, 2015. Due to a stress fracture in his left tibia, he missed the team's first 13 games of the 2015-16 season. In a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 22, 2015, he made his Mavericks debut on November 22, 2015, playing in just under 11 minutes off the bench, totaling 8 points and 6 rebounds. In a 117-116 double overtime victory over the Sacramento Kings on January 5, 2016, he set season highs of 13 points and 11 rebounds.

McGee was waived by the Mavericks on July 8, 2016.

McGee signed with the Golden State Warriors on September 16, 2016. In a 103–90 victory over the New York Knicks on December 15, 2016, he scored a season-high 17 points. In a 107-98 victory over the Houston Rockets, he had 13 points and a season-best five blocked shots. After losing the Cleveland Cavaliers 4–1 in the NBA Finals, the Warriors went on to win the 2017 NBA Championship. He appeared in 77 of 82 regular season games, with a field goal percentage of.652 and 16 of 17 playoff games, with a percentage of.732, both the highest in his career.

McGee re-signed with the Warriors on a one-year deal on August 1, 2017. Since being inserted into the starting lineup after the all-star break, his playing time increased. Since the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers in a four-game sweep in the Finals, he won his second straight championship in June 2018. In the four games, he started in the third three games of the series and scored 8.0 points.

McGee signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on July 10, 2018. In December, he missed seven games due to a respiratory disease. In a 111–106 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on March 22, 2019, he had career highs of 33 points and 20 rebounds along with six blocked shots.

McGee appeared in 68 games and averaged 6.6 points and 5.7 rebounds in 16.6 minutes per game during the 2019-20 season. In 2020, he won his third NBA championship with the Lakers.

McGee was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Alfonzo McKinnie and Jordan Bell on November 23, 2020. In a 121-114 victory over Charlotte Hornets on December 23, he made his competitive debut for the team, totaling 13 points and 7 rebounds off the bench.

McGee was traded to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for center Isaiah Hartenstein and two future second-round picks on March 25, 2021.

McGee joined the Phoenix Suns on August 16, 2021.

McGee signed with the Dallas Mavericks on July 9, 2022.

National team career

McGee was invited to the national team's mini camp in 2009 and again in the summer of 2010. McGee appeared at Radio City Music Hall as part of the 2010 World Basketball Festival, but after an uneven result, he was suspended from participation in the team's scrimmage against China at Madison Square Garden on August 15, 2010.

McGee visited the Philippines twice during the 2011 NBA lockout: first in exhibition games against NBA players from the Philippines and the Smart Gilas national team, and then in a basketball clinic. Later this year, he expressed his interest in playing for the Philippine national team, and in 2012, a bill was introduced to make him eligible to play for Smart Gilas. McGee was asked by the Gilas Pilipinas in 2014 to participate as a naturalized participant in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain. However, national teams were limited to one naturalized player apiece, and former Wizards teammate Andray Blatche made the World Cup team after he was granted citizenship.

The San Antonio Spurs' forward and forward Keldon Johnson were named as replacements for Bradley Beal and Kevin Love on the 2020 Olympic team on July 16, 2021. After the United States defeated France in the final on August 7, he claimed an Olympic gold medal. With the medal, Pamela McGee and his mother, Pamela McGee, became the first mother and son to receive gold medals in Olympic history.

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