Javale McGee is having a career renaissance with the Suns

[wagexslave]

He's been amazing off the bench... sh*t, even when Ayton was out and Javale was starting, he played great in the starting role including a 21/15 in 26min game against the Celtics. He looks more confident than I've ever seen him, shooting crazy efficient, and his overall production per minute numbers should put him in the convo for 6moty.

Current Per 36 minute stat rankings out of entire league (https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2022_per_minute.html):

24.5 PPG (14th)
16.9 RPG (2nd)
1.8 BPG (Tied-22nd)
66% FG (4th)

Any other bench players beating that level of production so far this season?

He's been everything I hoped he'd be and more so far, and I was excited we managed to pick him up after one of our biggest reasons for losing to the Bucks in the Finals was not having a true tall backup big who can rebound or play defense. We got slaughtered every time Ayton came off the court, so Ayton almost never got any rest... and with him having the most difficult task on the court in attempting to contain both Giannis and Lopez at the same time, it was a recipe for disaster. Ayton looked exhausted the more the series went. We really needed a guy like McGee so he was the perfect fit. I just didn't expect him to be playing this damn good lol.

[FireDavidKahn]

Per36 numbers are a useless metric for players that play very few minutes.

[expansionera]

Chris Paul made Deandre Jordan a household name, he’s the big man whisperer

[wagexslave]

Per36 numbers are a useless metric for players that play very few minutes.

They're not useless at all within a given context. Obviously they're not an apples for apples comparison in comparing bench players to high volume starters, not like I'm claiming he's the 14th best scorer just because he's ranked 14th in Per 36 PPG. But these stats can definitely help you see the level of production-per-minute a player is outputting, especially within their role. Javale's role is a 2nd string bench player, so I don't see why comparing his per-36 to other bench players per-36 wouldn't be acceptable.(And if you can find me a bench player who's outputting a better per-36 I'll be surprised)

But there's also the fact that when Ayton was out and Javale actually WAS playing the starting role, the numbers were pretty much holding up for him. Granted it's a small sample size. Regardless, as a bench player making $5m per year there's no doubt he's been a steal and deserves the credit right now. And the eye test holds up as well. He's just killing it and has quickly become a fan favorite, on the team with the best record in the league rn.

[Proctor]

He's been beasting. Suns are the perfect team for him. He's a really good player that was diminished due to his reputation and being on some teams that couldn't afford to maximize him.

[PP34Deuce]

Javale does great with limited minutes.

[JohnMax]

I want Suns, Warriors, or Bulls to win this years championship.

[GimmeThat]

he has the skills to play the 4, his assist turnover rate may be misleading because teams don't generally put shooters around him due to the reputation of teams being a rebounding team when he's on the floor.

truth is, you can start the guy if you have an iso player, he can be a taller version of Rasheed Wallace on the defensive end.

[RRR3]

His per 36 numbers have been like that for a while tbh.

[Akeem34TheDream]

He would fit any contender. He was also important for the 2 Warriors titles and 2020 Lakers team.

[Jasper]

Chris Paul made Deandre Jordan a household name, he’s the big man whisperer

true ,, but Mcgee people hav always looked at him as a dumb player , but he has hoops and plays hard,

can't diss a big that hustles

[Im so nba'd out]

Good to see him thriving in his later years after being a punchline when he was younger.

3x champ as a starter I believe.Cant remember off the top of my head if he was out of the rotation in the heat series on the lakers

[wagexslave]

For anyone who's interested, NBA.com just uploaded this detailed article (https://www.nba.com/news/suns-view-javale-mcgee-as-missing-piece-to-championship-puzzle) about Javale McGee and his crazy efficient stats this year, and what made him join the Suns as well as his fit with the team etc.

[1987_Lakers]

I remember being pretty impressed by him everytime he was on the court for the Warriors in 2017 and wondered why he didn't start.

[Wally450]

He would fit any contender. He was also important for the 2 Warriors titles and 2020 Lakers team.

I always wanted the Celtics to go get McGee back in 2011. Rondo made freaking Chris Wilcox look like a serviceable big. He would've made McGee shine.

[r0drig0lac]

3x times nba champ bitches.

[L.Kizzle]

A career bench guy is having one of his most productive seasons in his 15th year ...

[Airupthere]

3x times nba champ bitches.

Only one more to tie Shaq :oldlol:

[wagexslave]

A career bench guy is having one of his most productive seasons in his 15th year ...

Just because he's a bench player doesn't mean it's insignificant. He sure is playing like a starter, and like I said when Ayton was out he started and did great.

Regardless of starting or not, when you have a guy who can come in off the bench and give you 11 points 8 boards in just 16 mins played on a regular basis, that's great. And when you add the fact that he's the clear missing piece that could have tipped the scale between this team winning a chip or not last year, you can't ignore it. The Suns are good because of their balance and depth thanks to guys like Javale Mcgee, Cam Johnson, Cam Payne etc who can come off the bench and make a legit impact on both ends of the court while the stars rest. We love our bench players.

[L.Kizzle]

Just because he's a bench player doesn't mean it's insignificant. He sure is playing like a starter, and like I said when Ayton was out he started and did great.

Regardless of starting or not, when you have a guy who can come in off the bench and give you 11 points 8 boards in just 16 mins played on a regular basis, that's great. And when you add the fact that he's the clear missing piece that could have tipped the scale between this team winning a chip or not last year, you can't ignore it. The Suns are good because of their balance and depth thanks to guys like Javale Mcgee, Cam Johnson, Cam Payne etc who can come off the bench and make a legit impact on both ends of the court while the stars rest. We love our bench players.
it's an interesting occurrence is all I'm saying.

[wagexslave]

it's an interesting occurrence is all I'm saying.

Oh, true. Maybe Javale Mcgee is like a fine wine, he just gets better with age lol. Idk. Honestly I think it has to do with BBIQ. He's gotten a lot smarter on the court with more experience, I'm sure it helped big time being on championship teams that had many high BBIQ guys and he was even in the Olympics this year. He's no longer just the Shaqtin A Fool meme player he used to be. He knows his role and sticks to it well these days.

[Lebron23]

Oh, true. Maybe Javale Mcgee is like a fine wine, he just gets better with age lol. Idk. Honestly I think it has to do with BBIQ. He's gotten a lot smarter on the court with more experience, I'm sure it helped big time being on championship teams that had many high BBIQ guys and he was even in the Olympics this year. He's no longer just the Shaqtin A Fool meme player he used to be. He knows his role and sticks to it well these days.

Are you a Mexican???

[Full Court]

McGee was the main reason the Lakers took the championship in 2020. Should have been MVP in my opinion.