I have a soft spot for new Los Angeles Lakers signing JaVale McGee.
His recurring role on Shaqtin’ a Fool over the years has unfairly reduced him to a punch line in the minds of many NBA fans. But while he won’t be making any All-Star games, he’s a perfectly functional role player who helps his team win games when he is able to play to his strengths. He isn’t the caricature that he’s made out to be.
With apologies to Larry Nance, Jr. — who always stuck on screens a little too long to put as much pressure on the front of the rim as he could have — McGee provides the Lakers with their most credible lob threat since Dwight Howard in 2012-13, or perhaps even a healthy Andrew Bynum a few years before that.