Why JaVale McGee has every right to fight back
The Golden State Warriors’ JaVale McGee is clearly upset with Shaq’s constant humor at his expense. He’s upset and he has a right to be.
JaVale McGee is having a really good season for the Golden State Warriors. He’s provided a good spark off the bench. Even better, he filled in nicely in the starting lineup when Zaza Pachulia went down with injury.
He hasn’t been great defensively, but his offense more than makes up for it. McGee gives Golden State’s high-octane offense another dimension. He’s a threat whenever he heads towards the rim because his athleticism and long arms make the alley-oop a dangerous weapon for the Warriors.
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The casual fan probably doesn’t know how effective he’s been for Golden State. Surely, they saw him inbound the ball after a teammate made a free throw. They probably saw him miss a few layups too.
This is what “Shaqtin’ a Fool” does. It’s created a narrative that McGee can’t seem to escape. No matter what he does, he can’t ever be taken seriously.
Shaquille O’Neal’s segment has thrived off the strength of McGee’s lowlights. To be fair, some of it has been warranted. However his mockery is incessant.
For years, McGee has endured whatever O’Neal had to dish out. Finally, he’s standing up for himself. He fired back at Shaq after the TNT analyst made fun of him again in a parody video.
McGee took to Twitter to express his anger. He and O’Neal went back-and-forth late last night. This morning, Kevin Durant also weighed in, arguing that Shaq’s behavior is “childish.”
On the surface, it might seem ridiculous that a guy with a lot of bloopers is getting made fun of for those bloopers. But, for McGee, it’s bigger than that. He seems to feel that O’Nea’s bit is an attack from a bully.
McGee has made it known that he doesn’t like the segment. Despite this, O’Neal has pressed on. There’s a sense that his reputation is being negatively affected.
Steve Kerr also comes to JaVale McGee's defense, says Shaqtin a Fool affected JaVale's career, creates reputation he's found to be false pic.twitter.com/rrAGbnlami
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 24, 2017
While General Managers should not rely on a late night segment to make roster decisions, it seems to play some role. Steve Kerr admitted that he had a preconceived notion of what McGee was like and, through actually being around him, has learned that it couldn’t have been more wrong.
This isn’t a guy just getting his feelings hurt. This is a professional who feels like some unfair representations are hurting his career and wallet. That’s where this becomes problematic.
Guys like James Harden have been showcased a lot on O’Neal’s segment. His career security isn’t in jeopardy. People know how good he is, outside of his boneheaded defensive lapses. Smart people even understand that his defense can be better than what “Shaqtin’ a Fool” showed.
For a guy like Javale McGee, who isn’t a star, the exposure has impacts. Certain gaffes, like kissing a fan courtside or getting hit on the face by a redirected ball, are harmless and funny. Emphasizing other things like missing layups and errant passes are fine, in a vacuum. But they add up and create this picture of who McGee is.
Even positive highlights are introduced with Shaq’s now-iconic “JAVAAAALE McGEEEEE” call. On some level, this has in impact. When he flushes down a dunk or blocks a shot, it’s almost like a surprise despite the fact that he’s been doing that all year for Golden State.
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There’s some middle ground to be found here, but if McGee feels upset then perhaps we should understand his perspective. Maybe instead of rushing to call him “soft” or the Warriors hypocrites, there could be some value in figuring out what could be problematic about Shaq and his behavior.
O’Neal can use his platform to do what he wants, include make fun of the silliness that happens on the court. But when he crosses a line, JaVale McGee also reserves the right to fight back after letting it happen for years.