Why JaVale returned for second Dubs season despite better offers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
JaVale McGee helped the Warriors win back-to-back NBA championships in 2017 and ’18 thanks to his above-the-rim presence and lights-out shooting in the playoffs.
But he almost wasn’t with Golden State for its second title. The veteran center had plenty of better, bigger offers from other teams around the league before he decided to return to Golden State for the 2017-18 NBA season, signing a one-year contract to run it back with the Warriors in free agency.
So, why did he return?
“Tasting that championship, man, and seeing what it took from Game 1 to Game 82 to every game in the playoffs,” McGee told Warriors forward and former teammate Draymond Green on “The Draymond Green Show.” “The brotherhood that I felt, the energy, the way the Warriors organization treats their players.
“I had been to three or four teams, and the Warriors by far — still to this day — treat their players the best out of anybody.”
McGee commended Golden State for treating players and their families to dinners on the road, something he said he hasn’t seen another team do, and Green gave Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber an on-air shoutout.
“We appreciate you, Joe, Peter, for those dinners, for sure,” Green said.
“Just that aspect of being able to congregate with not only your teammates but your teammates’ friends and family, and not worrying about the bill,” McGee added. “Not worrying about the bill, just order whatever you want. We’re all just going to congregate in fellowship and really enjoy it.
“And that was one aspect. And I’m like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to do this again.’ And it worked out.”
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It indeed worked out. After helping the Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals, McGee did so again in 2018, starting the final three games of the series and averaging 8.0 points per contest in the four-game sweep.
Now with the Dallas Mavericks on a three-year contract, McGee is in his 15th NBA season but told Green he hopes to play into his 20th.
Perhaps in the years to come, the three-time champ, who also won with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, can help the Warriors bring another title to the Bay.
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