When I watched JaVale McGee score the first seven points for the Warriors in this game, I chuckled a little bit to myself. Then I thought, why should I be laughing at him? He’s a talented basketball player in his own right, not a sideshow freak to be mocked. Just because he was doing the early scoring rather than one of the stars on the team doesn’t mean I should laugh at him. I don’t laugh at DeAndre Jordan or Clint Capela when they run the floor and catch passes under the basket for dunks, so why McGee?
So, from now on, whenever McGee does something, I resolve to appreciate it for what it is, and not assign humor to it just because of the reputation he’s built up over the years. I also resolve not to watch any of those “Shaqtin”-inspired videos that feature McGee. Not like I was watching them anyway, but now I REALLY won’t watch them. My third resolution is to not exploit JaVale’s clownish personality and play style by choosing only the funniest faces of his for my video thumbnails.
If we all join together in these resolutions, then we can rebuild McGee from “NBA Oddity” to “Respected NBA Veteran”.