According to an unnamed Cavs player, JaVale McGee isn’t bright enough to get on the court during the NBA Finals.
Ouch.
The Warriors’ oft-misunderstood big fella has played well this season, and his teammates continuously vouch for him.
Per the Mercury News (via ESPN):
During ESPN’s The Basketball Analogy Show on Tuesday, [Dave] McMenamin said a Cavaliers player “postulated to me that he doesn’t even think McGee’s gonna be able to get on the court or certainly not stay on the court because he doesn’t think he’s quote, unquote ‘smart enough’ to be able to play in this series.”
That touches on a topic that riled up Kevin Durant and Steve Kerr, among other Warriors, in February after Shaquille O’Neal ridiculed McGee for the umpteenth time on his “Shaqtin’ A Fool” segment.
“The perception of him is that he’s dumb — and once you get labeled something in this league, it’s hard to shake it,” Durant said then. “But I’m sure he’s changing some people’s minds about what he’s doing as a player because he’s playing so well. It’s not just because he’s on a good team. You still got to put the work in. He’s out there catching those lobs, getting double-doubles, changing the game for us. He’s doing that because he put the work in, so respect that man.”
