JaVale McGee

McGee was selected 18th overall by the Wizards in the 2008 NBA draft. On July 9, 2008, he signed a two-year, $2.4 million deal with the Wizards.[3]

McGee with the Wizards in November 2010

On January 9, 2010, McGee was fined $10,000 by the Wizards for participating in Gilbert Arenas' antics before a game on January 5, 2010 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Arenas was being investigated for a prior incident involving guns in the Wizards' locker room, but made light of the accusations by pointing his finger at his teammates, as if he were shooting them. His teammates were photographed smiling and laughing with him.[4]

On January 6, 2011, McGee was chosen to participate in the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.[5] McGee was the first Wizard to ever participate in the contest. He finished in second place, losing to Blake Griffin. McGee was the first player to use three balls at one time in a dunk contest, which was later cited by the Guinness World Records as the most basketballs dunked in a single jump. The third ball was passed to him from teammate John Wall.

On March 15, 2011, in a 98–79 loss against the Chicago Bulls, McGee notched his first career triple-double, recording 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 blocks. His career high 12 blocks was the most since Keon Clark had 12 on March 23, 2001.[6] However, he received some criticism for taking ill-advised shots in the fourth quarter to ensure he reached 10 points while his team was being blown out, and even received a technical foul for excessive celebration by pulling himself on the rim after a dunk for his final points. Television commentator Kevin McHale called it a "bad triple-double".[7] In response to the criticism, McGee said, "I got a triple-double. Who can say they got a triple-double? I'm not really worried about it."[8]

During the 2011 NBA lockout, NBPA leaders met with around 30 players on October 14 and stressed unity. McGee left the meeting early and told reporters there were some players "saying that they're ready to fold", but the majority was united.[9] McGee later denied mentioning that players were ready to fold, but his comment was recorded by reporters.[10] Derek Fisher said McGee had "no ability to make that statement" based on the limited time he spent at the meeting.[9]

McGee averaged over 10 points and eight rebounds in 2010–11 and 2011–12 with the Wizards.[11]

On March 15, 2012, McGee was traded to the Nuggets along with Ronny Turiaf in a deal that sent Nenê to the Wizards.[12] As a member of the Wizards, he started 40 of 41 games in which he appeared; with the Nuggets, he would start in 5 of 20 games in which he appeared. His minutes would also be reduced, averaging 27.4 with Washington but 20.6 with Denver.[13] On March 21, in his Nuggets debut, McGee made the game-winning dunk off an Arron Afflalo missed free throw with 5 seconds left on the clock. At the end of the regular season, the Nuggets earned the West's sixth seed, and McGee appeared in the 2012 NBA Playoffs, which was his first playoff appearance in his career. McGee's series-high was 21 points in Game 5 against first-round opponent Los Angeles Lakers.[14] McGee's numbers were up and down throughout the series, including Game 7, when he scored just 6 points on 1–7 shooting in 32 minutes of floor time.[15] On July 18, 2012, McGee re-signed with the Nuggets on a four-year, $44 million contract.[16]

McGee's 2013–14 season was ended on February 20, 2014 when he underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left tibia in which he sustained on November 8, 2013.[17]

On October 29, 2014, McGee made his return for the Nuggets, recording 2 points and 2 rebounds in the season opening 89–79 win over the Detroit Pistons.[18]

On February 19, 2015, McGee was traded, along with the rights to Chukwudiebere Maduabum and a 2015 first-round pick, to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the rights to Cenk Akyol.[19] On March 1, 2015, he was waived by the 76ers after appearing in six games.[20]

On August 13, 2015, McGee signed with the Dallas Mavericks.[21] He missed the team's first 13 games of the 2015–16 season due to a stress fracture in his left tibia. On November 22, 2015, he made his debut for the Mavericks, playing in just under 11 minutes off the bench, recording 8 points and 6 rebounds in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[22] On January 5, 2016, he recorded season highs of 13 points and 11 rebounds in a 117–116 double overtime win over the Sacramento Kings.[23]

On July 8, 2016, McGee was waived by the Mavericks.[24]

On September 16, 2016, McGee signed with the Golden State Warriors.[25][26] On December 15, 2016, he scored a season-high 17 points in a 103–90 win over the New York Knicks.[27] On March 31, 2017, he had 13 points and a season-best five blocked shots in a 107–98 win over the Houston Rockets.[28] The Warriors went on to win the 2017 NBA Championship after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 4–1 in the NBA Finals. He played 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 best in his career.

On August 1, 2017, McGee re-signed with the Warriors on a one-year contract.[29][30] His playing time increased when he was inserted into the starting lineup after the all-star break.[31] In June 2018, he won his second straight championship after the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers in a four-game sweep in the Finals. He started the final three games of the series, and averaged 8.0 points in the four games.[32]

On July 10, 2018, McGee signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.[33] He missed seven games in December due to a respiratory infection.[34] On March 22, 2019, he had career highs of 33 points and 20 rebounds along with six blocked shots in a 111–106 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.[35]

On November 23, 2020, McGee was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Alfonzo McKinnie and Jordan Bell.[36]