JaVale McGee: The Lakers 'Other' Starter and Success Story
Shoutout to reggae.
Welcome to issue #14 of Throwdowns.
No long-winded introductions this week outside of once again expressing my ongoing gratitude to both my subscribers and those of you who continue to read and support my little newsletter. Issue #13 was the most visited/read to date. All thanks to you.
Now for this one, which is about the difficult task of shaking a checkered reputation, and learning to accept you — for you.
Photo by: Katelyn Mulcahy - Getty Images | Throwdowns Illustration
People often mistake a tendency to smile, or friendliness, as signs of weakness. Traits, that within the realm of professional sports simply do not traditionally scream “dedicated” or a “killer” within their craft.
JaVale McGee unfortunately falls into this category.
The 7’0” tall Michigan native is obviously physically opposing — especially when you couple in his absurd 7’6” wingspan — but spiritually, he extrudes a child-like nature that has rubbed people the wrong way once it seeps onto the hardwood.
Sure, McGee did not outwardly help break this stigma he acquired during his initial seasons in the NBA with the number of head-scratching decisions he routinely made on the floor.
Nor did the media’s coverage of him. Specifically, his countless entries in Shaqtin' a Fool. A continued inclusion in the blooper series that would eventually cause a rift, feud, beef or whatever you’d like to label it between he and Shaq himself.
“There’s always been joking around about JaVale. I’ve found that it’s unfortunate,” Steve Kerr told The Washington Post in 2017.
“He’s one of the smartest guys I’ve been around. He’s a techie. He’s got his drones. He’s always up to date on every new technological advancement. He’s got funny stories. The team loves him. The coaching staff loves him. Sometimes this league is about opportunity and who you’re playing with.”
And opportunity is what McGee found in Golden State, under Kerr and playing next to a star-studded roster with only one goal in mind — a championship.
When he first signed with the Lakers, even after his contributions to the Warriors, many were once again quick to get their quips in. A central part of the “meme team,” McGee in reality would go on to post a solid season on an underachieving L.A. squad.
That’s the unfortunate truth about reputation and past perceptions. Even if you are able to dismiss them or simply mature, they stick.
McGee, now surprisingly already 32, seems to have found his footing in Los Angeles. His 123 starts at center with the Lakers over the past two campaigns is already more than his previous ten seasons combined. And after some initial skepticism, he has also proven to be a more than adequate front-court partner next to Anthony Davis.
A lot has gone right for the team this year. From their risky signings, to the downright impressive chemistry up and down the roster, but McGee has somehow flown under the radar. And when considering his past, maybe this is a good thing.
- Defense
For as devastating as the LeBron James/Davis pairing has been, the Lakers’ biggest strength this season has been their defense.
Ranked 3rd best in the league before the stoppage in play, the team’s gargantuan roster has attempted to block out the sun on nearly every possession. McGee and his aforementioned size, has played a big role in this.
On the year, teams are actually attacking the rim more with McGee on the floor (37.6% of the time) vs. when he is off (35.8%) according to Cleaning the Glass.
This may be because of three things:
1) Teams are simply not attacking the rim (33% shot frequency) when Dwight Howard subs in.
2) The Lakers’ perimeter defenders are funneling everything toward the rim with McGee and Davis waiting to pounce.
3) Teams think they can exploit McGee’s paint defense. *This has not paid off.
According to the league’s tracking data, McGee is 7th among 44 centers who have played in at least 50 games this season in terms of the best defended field-goal% on shots coming within six feet of the rim.
This is also seen further in the Lakers’ lineup data as opponents are shooting 57.2% in the restricted area with McGee on the floor (92nd percentile among lineups with at least 100 possessions played) vs. 62.9% with him off the floor according to Cleaning the Glass.
So the natural question is why has he been so good?
One would assume the numbers might be skewed given the defensive talent around him, namely Davis. Which is likely partly true.
The defensive gravity if you will of players like Davis, James, Green and Bradley sends out fear/hesitation indicators to the opposition the second they penetrate the team’s barrier. But individually, McGee has been that good.
Data via: BBall Index
When glancing over McGee’s BBall-Index profile page, specifically his interior defense, we can see he is a standout in nearly every quantifiable metric through his still absurd combination of size and athleticism.
Outside of his aforementioned rim deterrence, McGee ranks in the 90th percentile or better in six of the seven individual categories that make up the site’s interior defense grade. An impressive mark for the big man often labeled as aloof, and lazy.
With a tendency for racking up blocks at a blistering rate, sometimes to his detriment, McGee’s ability to navigate the interior waters like a shark has been a huge boost in helping create the team’s ethos this year.
Which is essentially — we are bigger, longer and going to swarm the shit out of your offense.
- Offense
On the other side of the floor, McGee’s offensive contributions could be categorized in two primary categories: offensive rebounding and off-ball movement.
As a collective unit, the Lakers were 7th in terms of offensive rebounding rate. Again, it is easy to figure out why given their roster construction. McGee, individually however, thrived in this area.
Once again looking at how he stacked up against the league using BBall-Index’s data, we can see that McGee not only helped secure second chances but was often in the right position to do so.
Data via: BBall Index
The ability to read the ball off the rim, specifically the angles, coupled with using his frame to maneuver himself through the trees resulted in another stellar rebounding year for the big man.
Although not great in terms of putback impact or efficiency (the Lakers converted their putbacks at a higher rate with McGee off the floor vs on), the ability to generate second chances was especially helpful for what was just an average half-court offense this year.
In terms of his own scoring, McGee’s points largely come on the move and via other’s playmaking.
When looking at McGee’s “movement” scoring, he ranked ridiculously well in three essential components:
1) *Movement Attack Rate (99th percentile): Measures the percentage of a player’s half-court scoring possessions they spend in either cutting to the rim (no dump offs) or in an off-screen action.
2) *Movement Points per 75 Possessions (99th percentile): Points from cuts and off-screen scoring per 75 offensive possessions.
3) *Movement Impact (97th percentile): Seeks to capture the points a player adds above/below what an average player would score if given the same volume of possessions in similar situations.
* Data courtesy of BBall-Index
Obviously on the lower end of the pecking order when it comes to scoring chances, McGee’s skillset and knack for putting himself in advantageous situations without needing to soak up a ton of usage has continued to shine next to star talent.
This was seen in Golden State, and now in an enhanced role with Los Angeles.
Again, the fluidity McGee possesses when getting up and down the court paired with the subtle craft to his off-ball movement, creates a dynamo of a threat especially against slower plotting bigs.
While the rest of his offensive repertoire is obviously limited, McGee also still possesses excellent rim, vertical gravity that helps generate spacing in his own unique way.
A big reminder that scoring contributions can be seen further than simply looking at points per game.
- Impact
When entering a conversation regarding who have been the most impactful players on the Lakers this year, McGee’s name will likely be near the bottom of that list.
Fair, given the likes of James, Davis and Green’s existence on the roster as well as what has been Howard’s redemption season.
With that said, it should not go unnoticed that McGee was indeed impactful this year. Especially when compared to other centers (many of whom make much more than he does) and likely more so than many would have ever imagined.
*D-PIPM: + 2.51 | 3rd best
*PIPM: + 2.37 | 6th best
*Def-RAPTOR: +3.0 | 9th best
*Overall RAPTOR: +3.3 | 10th best
Among centers (*min: 1000 minutes played)
In many ways, McGee is the Lakers’ proof of concept in signing players with murky pasts when many others were quick to pass them by. They have a handful on the roster now, and they can only hope those players can yield similar results.
He may ultimately never be able to shake the reputation that follows him like a shadow even if the reasons why many view him the way they do is largely due to incidents that occurred years ago. But that is the price athletes unfortunately usually have to pay.
In Los Angeles, and during his tenure with this team however, McGee has proven to be a productive and useful basketball player. Smiling or not.
One who spends his offseason building water wells in Uganda and one who will now be looked upon to play a role in delivering another championship.
“I’ve been the same goofy guy I’ve been this whole time,” McGee said in 2017. “It’s just, I’m around people that didn’t try to change me. They knew who I am and realized, underlying me laughing all the time, I’m actually working hard.”