'I'm A Professional': Mavs’ JaVale McGee Speaks on Losing Starting Job

Despite a promise to be a starter in the offseason, poor play has landed JaVale McGee on the bench for the Dallas Mavericks. He spoke on that issue after the Mavs’ win on Friday night.

Michael Mulford | Nov 19, 2022

In the offseason, the Dallas Mavericks signed veteran center JaVale McGee to be their new starting center, going as far as to promising McGee a spot in the starting five.

Well, the Mavs are 15 games into the 2022-23 season and that starting center promise for McGee has come and gone.

After struggling out of the gate, it took some time for Mavericks coach Jason Kidd to make a change from McGee. However, over the last six games, it's been Dwight Powell as Dallas' starting center.

Through 11 games, McGee is averaging 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while the Mavericks are -20 with him on the floor. For Powell, he's averaging 6.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as he's +48 for the season.

Following Friday's 127-99 victory over the Denver Nuggets, McGee spoke about his confusion on his role with the team.

"I don't really have an understanding of when my minutes will come, but I'm a professional, so whatever my team feels we need to win," McGee said.

McGee probably had his most promising stretch of the season on Friday when matched up with former Maverick DeAndre Jordan. McGee finished the game with 10 points, four rebounds, one assist, and two blocks on a season-high +11.

"If they feel I shouldn’t be starting, I’ll cheer from the bench," McGee said. "If they feel like I should start or however many minutes they think I should play, I’m going to play them my hardest."

As McGee said, he's a professional. He’s a three-time NBA champion. He's 15 years into his career and has played every role in this league from starter to role player to catching DNP-CD's on a regular basis so if anyone can understand Kidd's decision, disappointed or not, it should be McGee.

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Published Nov 19, 2022

MICHAEL MULFORD

Michael Mulford is a writer/editor for Dallas Basketball, where he extensively covers the Dallas Mavericks. He also covers the Chicago Bulls as the Managing Editor for Bulls Wire of USA Today Sports Media Group. Mulford grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Event, and Sports Management. He began his pursuit of sports writing in 2017 with Dallas Sports Fanatic, where he covered the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, Texas Legends. He then became the Managing Editor of Dallas Sports Fanatic just one year later and has covered the Mavericks as a credentialed media member since 2018, including covering numerous playoff games between 2021-22 and covering the team at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in 2019. In his time covering the Mavericks, Mulford has conducted numerous interviews for exclusive stories including with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, former Maverick and current VP of Basketball Ops Michael Finley, former Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, and more. You can follow and interact with Mulford on Twitter at @TheMulf.