Tag: JaVale McGee

JaVale McGee’s steal on Luka Doncic (!) and slam in Game 1 stunned NBA fans

What a play!!

We have spent far too many years making jokes about JaVale McGee, whether it’s about him doing something good on the court or feuding with Shaq or doing something wrong that makes the lowlight reel.

But let me remind you: That man is a three-time NBA champion, one who has figured out and thrived in a specific role in the later years of his career.

And on Monday night, he pulled off an awesome play that had everyone buzzing: In the fourth quarter, he was facing Luka Doncic, no easy task. And suddenly, he poked away the ball and took it coast-to-coast for a dunk.

NBA fans were floored:

The best pick-and-roll duos in the NBA

The pick-and-roll has for a long time been one of the most vital play types. With guards’ abilities to get to the basket using a teammates’ screen or bomb away using a pull-up three-point, pick-and-rolls stretch defenses and increase offensive efficiency.

Using analytics and the eye test, we’ve put together a list of the best pick-and-roll duos in the NBA in 2021-22.

The best pick-and-roll duos in the NBA

HoopsHype breaks down the top 7 pick-and-roll duos in the NBA in the 2021-22 season.

The pick-and-roll has for a long time been one of the most vital play types. With guards’ abilities to get to the basket using a teammates’ screen or bomb away using a pull-up three-point, pick-and-rolls stretch defenses and increase offensive efficiency.

Using analytics and the eye test, we’ve put together a list of the best pick-and-roll duos in the NBA in 2021-22.

Three in the Key: Analyzing Cole Anthony, Grant Williams, JaVale McGee

As part of an ongoing series at HoopsHype, we’re breaking down three interesting topics we have seen around the NBA throughout the season.

As part of an ongoing series at HoopsHype, we’re breaking down three interesting topics we have seen around the NBA throughout the season.

Of course, the name of this column is derived from basketball’s three-second violation rule. With that in mind, the goal of this exercise is to observe three subjects about the game. We want to explain the key to why it is happening while also providing context on what makes it interesting.

Here are three more of our highlights from the NBA’s 2021-22 season:

Three in the Key: Analyzing Cole Anthony, Grant Williams, JaVale McGee

As part of an ongoing series at HoopsHype, we’re breaking down three interesting topics we have seen around the NBA throughout the season.

Of course, the name of this column is derived from basketball’s three-second violation rule. With that in mind, the goal of this exercise is to observe three subjects about the game. We want to explain the key to why it is happening while also providing context on what makes it interesting.

Here are three more of our highlights from the NBA’s 2021-22 season:

Houston Rockets report card: Player grades from Sunday’s loss to Phoenix

Rookie big man Alperen Sengun recorded his first career double-double, but Houston (1-12) still lost its 11th straight game.

The losing streak for the Houston Rockets (1-12) is now at 11 games after Sunday’s 115-89 blowout loss (box score) to visiting Phoenix. The Suns (9-3), who were led by 26 points and 6 assists from perennial All-Star guard Devin Booker, have now won eight straight games overall.

With the likes of Booker and Chris Paul leading the way, the Suns are the defending Western Conference champions, whereas the rebuilding Rockets have numerous rotation players at 21 years old or younger. Those dynamics were on full display on Sunday night at Toyota Center, where Houston wrapped up a winless three-game homestand.

Christian Wood led the Rockets with 17 points, while rookie big man Alperen Sengun (10 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists) had the first double-double of his young NBA career. However, the young backcourt of Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green combined for 10 turnovers while shooting just 9-of-29 from the field (31.0%) and 2-of-13 on 3-pointers (15.4%).

See below for highlights, statistics, and player analysis, with grades limited to players who played rotation minutes. Now on a back-to-back, Houston has a very quick turnaround before its next game on Monday at Memphis (6-7), where tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Central.

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Ramona Shelburne links DeAndre Jordan to the Lakers pending buyout

If DeAndre Jordan doesn’t remain with the Nets, he could very well land with the Nets’ toughest opponents in the Western Conference.

According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, the Los Angeles Lakers could have interest in DeAndre Jordan if the Nets buy him out. The 33-year-old struggled in his most recent season in Brooklyn and he saw his minutes slowly decline. In fact, his minutes declined so much that he did not even touch the court during the postseason, which is still surprising.

Still, Jordan managed to put up 7.5 PPG along with 7.5 RPG in the 57 games he played. There’s no doubt that the one-time All-Star can find new life with the Lakers. In fact, he very well can be their missing piece.

Back during the Lakers’ 2020 championship run, their big men in the form of Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee feasted off of pick and rolls. With Anthony Davis providing floor spacing at power forward, Los Angeles found ways to win games solely through their size alone. They also have the luxury to go small too.

Keep in mind though, Jordan may not push for a buyout at all. If he stays on the Nets, he will make $9.8M. The Lakers are definitely not going to offer anything close to this so it will all come down to what the veteran wants at the end of day. Will he want to play meaningful minutes for a contender or accept his limited role for a contender.

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JaVale McGee enjoyed playing with LeBron more than Warriors’ Stephen Curry

JaVale McGee chose LeBron James over Stephen Curry in a question of who he enjoyed playing with more.

Throughout the last five years of his career, JaVale McGee has redefined his career playing with championship-caliber teams.

Prior to his first stint with the Golden State Warriors in 2016-17, McGee was simply known as an inefficient but athletic center who could’ve used his skills more effectively.

But playing alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and company brought out a different version of McGee. His role and minutes off the bench were simplified, and he became more efficient as a result.

After helping the Warriors to a title in 2016-17, he played one more season there before joining the Los Angeles Lakers on a minimum deal.

McGee became the starting center during his two years with L.A. and played a crucial role as a rim-running lob threat who made the right play at the right time, helping L.A. to its 17th championship in 2020.

McGee got to play with stars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which further added to the list of extraordinary talent he’s been with.

In an AMA with Bleacher Report, a fan asked McGee if he liked playing with James or Curry more. Here is McGee’s response:

I would probably say LeBron the first year I was on the Lakers.

Though McGee didn’t specify why he preferred LeBron, he’s had the chance to play with multiple future Hall of Famers.

McGee is now with the Phoenix Suns, so he’ll share the floor with Chris Paul, Devin Booker and more.

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How JaVale and Pam McGee made awesome mother-son Olympic history

This is the coolest.

With Team USA’s victory over France in the men’s basketball gold-medal game Saturday at the Tokyo Olympics, JaVale McGee became an Olympic champion for the first time and made some awesome history with his mom, Pam McGee.

Pam is a Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer who helped lead USA Basketball to its first-ever gold medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. And now with the Denver Nuggets center’s gold medal, they’re the first American mother-son duo to win Olympic gold and the first overall to do it in Olympic basketball.

Winning any medal at the Olympics is an incredible accomplishment, but this is an extra cool achievement and moment for the McGee family.

But the McGees are not the first mother-son combo to win Olympic gold medals.

The only other known time this has happened was when the Soviet Union’s Valentina Rastvorova won gold in fencing at the 1960 Rome Games, and then her son, Yevgeny Grishin, won gold in water polo in 1980 in Moscow, according to the Associated Press and Olympic historian Bill Mallon.

More from the Associated Press:

“It’s an amazing feeling, man,” said [JaVale] McGee, who adds gold to his three NBA titles. “I’ve got a gold medal. My mother has a gold medal. We’re the first to do it, mother-son duo. It’s an amazing feeling. You can’t really explain it. Just knowing you’re the best in the world, amazing, man.”

JaVale was a late addition to the U.S. men’s basketball Olympic lineup after Kevin Love withdrew about a week before the Tokyo Games began. Pam said she felt an overwhelming sense of pride when her son was added to the Olympic team and added, via The Orange County Register:

“I always tell him, “We don’t care how we got in the door – front door, back door, side door – as long as we get to the table.’” she said in a phone interview with Southern California News Group. “I got cut from several teams before the Pan American team (in 1983) and then the Olympic team. Eventually, people will recognize the work, those hours you’re putting in the gym.”

A gold medal-winning mom and son is absolutely the coolest.

And once JaVale had his Olympic gold medal, he celebrated it and his mom’s achievements with a couple great Instagram posts showing off their hardware.

He wrote in one caption:

The originator, the woman who sacrificed, the standard to live up too! LOVE YOU MA!

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JaVale McGee, not Christian Wood, lands final U.S. Olympics spot

A report on Thursday indicated that Houston’s Christian Wood was in consideration for a Team USA spot, but JaVale McGee got the call.

Hours after a report emerged that Houston Rockets center Christian Wood was under consideration for a vacated roster spot with USA Basketball in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, it appears that veteran JaVale McGee was the U.S. team’s choice among available big men.

McGee and San Antonio forward Keldon Johnson — who happens to play for Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich with the NBA’s Spurs — were officially named to the final U.S. roster, replacing Bradley Beal and Kevin Love. Both Beal (health and safety protocols) and Love (calf injury) had been removed from the roster in recent days.

It seems highly unlikely that any further roster spots will open up, since Team USA is poised to travel to Japan in the next few days.

Assuming Wood was healthy, available, and willing to play, it appears to be a curious decision at face value. The 25-year-old big man averaged 21.0 points (51.4% FG, 37.4% on 3-pointers) and 9.6 rebounds per game in Houston last season, whereas McGee played very limited roles with Cleveland and Denver while averaging 7.3 points and 5.2 rebounds in 14.7 minutes. In particular, Wood’s superior shooting from 3-point range would seem to make him a better fit for international play.

However, the 33-year-old McGee is a three-time NBA champion, and perhaps Popovich wanted to prioritize that type of experience for what will likely be the team’s final roster selection.

USA Basketball’s schedule at the Olympics begins on Sunday, July 25, with a high-profile Group A matchup versus France. Tipoff from the Saitama Super Arena is set for 7:00 a.m. Central.

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