Lakers’ McGee gets it going
There was a two-season stretch during which JaVale McGee scored a total of 141 points. He was a target of jokes, wildly misunderstood by many in the NBA, almost an afterthought of sorts whose career seemed to be closer to flaming out than taking off.
And in those darkest days, McGee kept asking himself the same question. "Is it over?" The answer now is obvious: No, it wasn't over. Fast forward, and it may just be getting started.
He's living the life that few in the NBA get to experience. He's teamed up with the best players of this generation — Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, LeBron James. He's won two championships, part of Golden State's back-toback titles over the last two seasons. And now he's the starting center for the Los Angeles Lakers, getting a chance to play big minutes and put up numbers for the first time in nearly a decade.
In his 11th season, McGee has basically gotten a basketball rebirth.
"I played against him in the last two NBA Finals and I wanted him on this team because I know what he brings," said James, who lobbied the Lakers to get McGee. "It's his energy, his energy level, his ability at the rim and his ability to protect the rim. If you don't have that on your team, you're not going to have much, man. You need to have people with a high IQ, which he's got. That's why I wanted JaVale to be part of this."
McGee's numbers are so much better this season than what they've been. But he cringes at the notion that he's gotten better.
What the Lakers have given him is a better chance. That's the difference. And he's certainly one of the reasons why they're off to a 10-7 start, winners in six of their last seven games.
McGee's per-36-minutes averages over his career have been remarkably similar: Never lower than 13.1 points in a full season, the majority of the time between 15 and 18 points per 36 minutes of play. But the numbers are spiking this year because he's actually getting minutes — the Lakers are starting him and playing him about 25 minutes per night, and he's responding with averages of 13.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.
He's showing everyone else what James saw in the NBA Finals the past two years.
"He could have said get anybody," McGee said. "It's just a reassuring feeling, a confidence-builder I guess, knowing that you're going into a situation wanted as an option, like you're really wanted. That's pretty dope."