3. He has championship experience
Other than LeBron, most of the core group of the Los Angeles Lakers are very young. Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart are coming off their rookie seasons, and Brandon Ingram just finished his second year along with Ivica Zubac. It would really help them if they had a couple of veteran teammates who have gone all the way to teach them what it takes to get it done themselves.
That is exactly the type of teammate JaVale McGee is. He played for the Golden State Warriors the past two years as they won back-to-back NBA world championships. Now that he is 30 years of age, he is a grizzled, salty vet who will bring experience and wisdom to the Lakers’ young guns.
Youth alone doesn’t get it done in pro sports. When Lebron took his talents to South Beach in 2010, he was the NBA’s ringless wonder who was looking for his first.
To that end, the Miami Heat brought in Mike Bibby, Eddie House and later Shane Battier and Ray Allen, all guys who had either won a championship or had been deep into the playoffs. Upon returning to Cleveland in 2014, the Cavs added vets like Kendrick Perkins, Shawn Marion and LeBron’s former Heat teammates James Jones and Mike Miller.
The been-there, done-that acquisitions hit timely shots and helped LeBron win three championships, two in Miami and one in Cleveland.
In addition, being a former Golden State Warrior, maybe McGee knows a secret or two about some flaws or weaknesses that the Lakers can expose should they play his former team in the playoffs.