Over the last few seasons, JaVale McGee has been able to change the perception surrounding him as he was a contributor on two Golden State Warriors championship teams and had the best season of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Now after 11 seasons in the league, McGee is a respected veteran and has been through all kinds of situations throughout his time in the league. He has also been a part of some very good teams and McGee believes the 2019-20 Lakers are right up there in terms of talent.
“Yeah, I definitely could say this is one of the most talented teams I’ve played on of course besides Golden State,” McGee said during 2019 Lakers Media Day. “But I feel like Golden State really had mostly just starters as All-Stars and a couple of All-Stars on the bench also, but they were really focused on that.”
“But I just feel like this team is really well put together. Definitely the people upstairs put the team together well and got a good conglomerate of great players that are all just going to work as one unit and really come together.”
Coming together will be key for this Lakers team as there are a number of new players on the roster who have to gel with all of the returning players.
Head coach Frank Vogel will have his work cut out for him in figuring out the right combination of players, lineups, and rotations that will help the Lakers reach their potential. But as McGee noted, the talent is there.
Of course, it all starts at the top with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, arguably two of the best five players in the NBA, but the rest of the team has potential as well.
Kyle Kuzma could turn the corner and possibly become an All-Star player in his third season while Danny Green, Avery Bradley, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope can bring defense and shooting.
McGee and Dwight Howard bring rim protection and rebounding and Rajon Rondo is still one of the best playmakers in the league.
Whether or not it all comes together still remains to be seen and Vogel must find a way to help this team build chemistry. Regardless, the talent on this team is there and McGee is someone who has seen plenty of it throughout his career. He believes this Lakers team is as good as any and now they’ll have to show it.