JaVale McGee thinks the NBA is systematically phasing out the center position.
“They’re trying to get us out of here,” says the big fella.
New story: JaVale McGee on the NBA’s disappearing center spot – “It’s like they don’t want us here” https://t.co/GmBRhmLsL9
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 3, 2018
McGee, 30, is doing everything he can—keeping his weight down, working on his three-point shot—to avoid joining the “dilution of the big man.”
Per ESPN:
“It’s extremely hard because it seems like they don’t want us here,” McGee said after Wednesday’s practice. “They’re trying to get us out of here. The prime example is them taking us off the All-Star ballot. They literally took the whole position off the All-Star ballot. So just think about that.”
He also has had to change his body and now, 30 years old himself, sticks to a vegan diet.
“It’s the evolution of knowing myself and how I can play,” McGee said. “One year I got to like 280 [pounds]; ‘I’m big, I’m about to have a crazy season.’ I couldn’t jump. I couldn’t run. I felt tired. I was like, maybe being big isn’t my thing. Then I was like, I want to stay around 240, 250. And people still tell me, ‘You’re not strong enough, blah, blah.’ I’m like, ‘That’s not my game.’ I don’t need to be a banger. I dunk on people. I block shots and stay out the way.”
