When news broke that the Golden State Warriors planned to start JaVale McGee against the San Antonio Spurs, some NBA fans were skeptical about the decision. Within nine minutes, though, the center had proved the doubters wrong.
McGee provided nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, grabbed three rebounds, snagged one steal and emphatically blocked one shot during his first stint of action. ESPN Stats & Info pointed out that those totals surpassed his season averages.
Largely thanks to McGee, the Warriors built a 20-11 advantage as the first quarter entered the closing stretch.
And Twitter went crazy for McGee.
https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/985237232062779392
I had no idea Javale McGee was the greatest basketball player alive.
— Andrew McCarty (@andrewjmccarty) April 14, 2018
everyone was talking about how the Warriors would be affected with Steph being out but no one talked about how it doesn't matter cause they have Javale
— Pounding the Rock (@poundingtherock) April 14, 2018
Probably gonna be hard for Spurs to win if McGee outscores Aldridge…
— Michael Erler (@MichaelErlerSBN) April 14, 2018
This what Javale had before the game #DubNation #NBAPlayoffs #Let’sGoWarriorsLive pic.twitter.com/gNAc31ADdX
— ✝️📜🖊 (@JaiSmith05) April 14, 2018
I can’t believe I’m going to say this but…
JaVale being this active and running so much is a terrible matchup for Aldridge and the Spurs.
That was wild to type out
— Zach Harper (@talkhoops) April 14, 2018
Javale McGee’s been possessed by the spirit of Wilt Chamberlain #NBAPlayoffs
— Chris (@ChrisCJBrown) April 14, 2018
Love to see superstars like JaVale McGee stepping up when it matters
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) April 14, 2018
The year is 2019.
Basketball has been canceled due to the dominance of the newly unlocked JaVale McGee.
No one stood a chance.
— Craigory Smith, KXCN (@nihilist_bucks) April 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/wildsean_94/status/985239099752660992