Phoenix Suns Fun Fact: JaVale McGee was stuck on JV, 'I just had to keep working'

JaVale McGee’s parents could hoop, especially his mom.

Pam McGee was a two-time NCAA champion at USC, and she won a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics. After JaVale won gold with Team USA at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, he and his mom got to go on Good Morning America as the first American mother-son duo to win the top prize in international competition.

But that doesn’t mean his path was easy; he had to fight for every opportunity.

The Republic continues its “Fun Facts” series with the Phoenix Suns with McGee, the veteran center, who’s developed into a prototypical rim protector, an efficient threat to score in the post and, mostly, a winner.

Name: JaVale McGee

Position: C

Age: 34

NBA season: 14th

Twitter: @JaValeMcGee

Instagram: javalemcgee

Fun fact: “I was on JV.”

Q: JaVale, both of your parents were pretty good ballplayers. Your dad, George Montgomery, was drafted by Portland, and your mom, Pam McGee, was one of the greatest players of all time. Did that put any pressure on you?

A: Hell, naw. The pressure that was created for me was the fact that I’m 7-foot. That was the pressure. People were like, ‘Maybe you should play basketball, you’re 7-foot tall.’ That was more of the pressure than ‘I gotta play basketball because my parents played.’

I never felt that pressure. I felt more of the pressure like, ‘What else is your 7-foot (butt) gonna do?’

Q: Did it make your path easier? Having parents who could hoop?

A: I went to Detroit Country Day. And all the guys who went to Detroit Country Day were ranked higher than me, and I was on JV. All those other guys never made it (to the NBA.) It’s just a crazy concept. Keep your head down and keep working, for real.

Q: So, you’ve come up the hard way your whole career. From not making varsity right away, to grinding in the NBA for about a decade before winning your first of three championships (so far) and being older than 30 when you won a gold medal. What does it mean to you to have overcome so many challenges on your path?

A: It means a lot, man. It means a lot. Most people in the league, they’ve always been the top dog their whole career. When they came to the league, they were McDonald’s All-American or they went to the top schools. My road wasn’t like that. I always believed in myself. My parents always believed in me, and my people, my team, believed in me. I just had to keep working.

Q: How did your mom react when you won gold?

A: She was happy. She was excited. Very excited.

Q: One more thing, you grew up in the Midwest. How did you end up going to Nevada?

A: I was trying to get as far away from the cold as possible, and the funny part is: It snows at the University of Nevada-Reno. But I was trying to go as far West as possible. … As a man, I just wanted to be on my own.

More Suns 'Fun Facts': Devin Booker | Chris Paul | Bismack Biyombo | Elfrid Payton | Cam Payne | Torrey Craig | Deandre Ayton | Mikal Bridges

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @SayingMoore. There's plenty Moore where this came from. Subscribe for videos, columns, opinions and analysis from The Arizona Republic’s award-winning sports team.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fun Fact: Suns center JaVale McGee was stuck on JV in high school