Former Golden State Warriors center JaVale McGee has had one of the wildest career arcs in recent memory. He went from promising young talent with the Washington Wizards to ridiculed Shaqtin'-a-fool mascot in just a few years in the league.
It wasn't until his stint in the Bay Area with Stephen Curry and the gang that he turned into a respected veteran that could contribute to winning a title.
McGee recently spoke out about what made the Warriors different in a sit-down with Shannon Sharpe.
“Going to Golden State was life-changing for me. Seeing the way a real organization works…they were definitely a players team. 1-15 everybody was locked in.” — @JaValeMcGee pic.twitter.com/aHO7f9LcVM
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) September 17, 2021
“Going to Golden State was definitely a blessing for me. It was life-changing of course, winning championships. But just behind the scenes was life-changing for me, too. Seeing a real organization work and how they take care of their players. And how the players really run what goes on. It's not just, ‘okay, the coach tells you to do something, and you do it.'
On my first two teams with the Wizards and with Denver, that's how it was ran. In Golden State, the players had the loudest voices in the gym. If Draymond wanted to do this dinner with the whole team, it was going to happen. It wasn't a question.”
According to JaVale McGee, the Warriors simply ran things for, by, and through its players. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green were at the center of their winning atmosphere and kudos to the front office allowing the players-first culture to exist in the first place.
Simple things like allowing family members to fly with them during the playoffs and team dinners hosted by the players themselves made an imprint on JaVale McGee and how he perceived what a winning organization looks like.
It's a testament to the quality of their organization that the Golden State Warriors still have their same core figures today.
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