OAKLAND, Calif. -- At the beginning of 2017, JaVale McGee gifted each of his teammates a massive blanket with the face of a sleeping Draymond Green on it, mouth agape. Teammates joked that they could barely handle the sight of an awake Green for extended periods, let alone snuggle with a sound-asleep Dray printed on cloth.
"Yeah, that was too much," Andre Iguodala said while laughing.
Green, never one to take himself too seriously, thought it was funny. He and McGee are cool with each other. In fact, Green was working on something else that McGee would appreciate.
The Warriors were heading into the All-Star break appearing lifeless and unmotivated. They had dropped four of their past eight contests. It was during this time that Steve Kerr said the team was "mentally fried" and suggested his players were already eyeing their midseason vacation destinations.
But when Golden State returned to the Bay Area after the break, Kerr had a surprise waiting for them in an attempt to create a spark.
"I don't know what happened," McGee told ESPN. "He came back after All-Star [break] and I was starting."
It turned out individuals were working behind the scenes and advocating for the 7-footer to either start or receive consistent minutes in the rotation. Green and assistant coach Jarron Collins, who is assigned to McGee during solo portions of practice, were among those vouching for the backup center's talents to be unleashed.
"That doesn't mean Draymond and JC have been banging down my door saying we've got to start him. That never happened," Kerr explained to ESPN. "JC works with him every day, so all of our individual coaches tend to advocate for their guys. So, let's get that straight."
Zaza Pachulia, the starting center for much of the season, is a solid low-post defender who sets amazing screens, but he lacks athleticism and struggles finishing around the basket. McGee, while turnover-prone, provides aerial assaults on both ends of the floor and brings a style of play that energizes the team.
Up until the All-Star break, McGee's numbers and opportunities had dwindled drastically in Year 2 with the Warriors. In his first season, he was a regular rotation player and accumulated only five DNPs. This season, McGee had been mostly out of the rotation and gathered 16 DNPs. He didn't know why that was the case and admitted he struggled with it.
"Yeah, I get frustrated," McGee said. "But I try not to let those frustrations get out into the media or get out onto the court in my play. I try to keep the same energy that I have. I try to bring positivity to the team."
Green told ESPN that he'd been in Kerr's ear about expanding McGee's role "since really the beginning of last year."
"I just think it was very important for us to get him more time because he offers us a different threat than anyone else on our team," Green said. "With that lob threat at the rim, that rim protection. When you have a guy like that, it's tougher to score on the pick-and-roll at the rim because he doesn't necessarily have to step up and give up a lob. He can just meet guys at the rim.
"And he's very active, and the activity that he brings, that dive to the rim, it attracts bodies or it's a lob. Guys can't really help off as much because you just throw it to the rim. We just knew that he brought something else to this team that no one else does, and it's something that we need. It just adds a whole different element and layer to our offense."
Said McGee: "I knew he [was vouching for me] a little bit because Draymond has a habit of liking to get the ball to people. Having me out there is really a good thing for me and him, because he can throw that lob, and I'm a threat with that lob. So basically, it's beneficial to the team, I feel like."
Collins did his campaigning during film sessions.
"JC is frequently talking about what he believes JaVale can or cannot do," Kerr said. "So he's giving us extra insight based on his own work with him. But definitely advocating for him in certain matchups. Draymond the same way.
"You guys know that we sort of have played the center by committee, and I think JaVale even said this the other day, he's going to start in certain matchups and then maybe not even play in others. Last year, he was tremendous in the first couple of rounds against Portland and Utah, and then he played a little bit less in the conference finals and Finals. So, it changes."
McGee started 13 of the final regular-season games in which he was made available and, as a result, the team got off to better starts. Meanwhile, Pachulia has taken his benching in stride.
"I'm just going to continue preparing myself as if I'm going to play," Pachulia said. "You have to stay ready when you're called. It's about being a professional, and that's what I'm trying to do."
When the Warriors found out their first-round matchup in these playoffs, there was a debate among outsiders as to who should receive the start at center since the San Antonio Spurs hadn't been going with a traditional center. McGee got the nod, and it didn't take long for him to prove his worth.
In the first quarter of Game 1, All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge backed McGee down under the rim. He pump-faked once. McGee didn't bite. He pump-faked again. McGee still didn't leave the floor. He tried a third time and McGee stayed planted. When Aldridge finally went up for a shot attempt, McGee leaped and spiked the ball to Kevin Durant, who dribbled up the court and nailed a contested 3 over Rudy Gay.
Aldridge was a combined 9-of-21 (43 percent) from the field when guarded by McGee in the series. If you exclude Aldridge's spectacular Game 2 outing, he went 4-of-15 against McGee in all other games.
"I tend to do well against big 4s who are real skilled because I'm tall, lanky and athletic," McGee said.
The next test will be a second-round clash with the New Orleans Pelicans and superstar Anthony Davis. Kerr hasn't divulged his starting center for the series, but all signs point to McGee remaining in the starting lineup to match up with Davis.
McGee will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and has hopes of being a starting center, but said he has only two goals for the remainder of this season.
"To take full advantage of every opportunity that I'm given and win an NBA championship. That's it," he said. "I just want to contribute to our wins."