What Is JaVale McGee's Net Worth?
JaVale McGee is an American professional basketball player, writer, producer, and reality television personality who has a net worth of $30 million. JaVale McGee began his career with the Washington Wizards after being the 18th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. He stayed with the team until 2012, then he joined the Denver Nuggets (2012–2015; 2021), Philadelphia 76ers (2015), Dallas Mavericks (2015–2016; 2022–present), Golden State Warriors (2016–2018), Los Angeles Lakers (2018–2020), Cleveland Cavaliers (2020–2021), and Phoenix Suns (2021–2022). After the draft, the Wizards signed JaVale to a two-year, $2.4 million deal, and he was the first member of the team to ever be chosen to participate in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. McGee was the runner-up in the contest, and he was the first player to dunk three balls at once, which the Guinness Worlds Records cited as the "most basketball dunks in a single jump." McGee is a three-time NBA champion (2017, 2018, and 2020), and he won a gold medal as a member of the 2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team. In 2014, JaVale and his mother, Olympic gold medalist/former WNBA player Pamela McGee, starred on the Oprah Winfrey Network reality series "Mom's Got Game." McGee also wrote and starred on "The Nick and JaVale Show" (2011–2012) with his then-teammate Nick Young, and he produced the 2016 short film "ANYWHERE, U.S.A." and the 2017 feature film "All Eyez on Me."
Early Life
JaVale McGee was born JaVale Lindy McGee on January 19, 1988, in Flint, Michigan. He is the son of George Montgomery and Pamela McGee. George was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers during the second round of the 1985 NBA Draft (but never played for them), and Pamela was a USC standout who later played for the WNBA teams the Sacramento Monarchs and Los Angeles Sparks and won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics. JaVale has a younger half-sister, Imani McGee-Stafford, who formerly played for the WNBA teams the Atlanta Dream and Chicago Sky. Pamela, who has an economics degree, homeschooled JaVale and Imani, and she taught school and coached during the offseason. McGee attended Detroit Country Day School and Providence Christian in Flint, then he transferred to Chicago's Hales Franciscan High School. After graduating from high school in 2006, JaVale enrolled at the University of Nevada, where he played the position of starting center on the Nevada Wolf Pack basketball team. During his sophomore year, McGee averaged 14.3 points per game, and he soon decided to leave school and declare for the NBA draft.
Career
During the 2008 NBA draft, JaVale was the 18th overall pick, and in July he signed a $2.4 million, two-year contract with the Washington Wizards. In January 2010, the Wizards fined McGee $10,000 for "making light of Gilbert Arenas' antics" before a game. At the time, Arena was under investigation for an incident involving firearms in the team's locker room, and before the January 5th game against the Philadelphia 76ers, he pointed his fingers at some teammates "as if he were firing a pair of guns." JaVale and three of his teammates were fined for "smiling or laughing" at the gesture. During the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons, McGee averaged 10 points per game. In March 2012, he was traded to the Denver Nuggets, and later that year he played in the NBA Playoffs, scoring 21 points in Game 5. In July 2012, the team re-signed him to a $44 million, four-year contract. In November 2013, JaVale suffered a stress fracture in his left tibia, and he underwent surgery to repair it in February 2014. He returned to the Nuggets in October 2014, and in February 2015, the team traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers. McGee played in six games for the 76ers before he was waived by the team. He signed with the Dallas Mavericks in August 2015, but he missed the first 13 games of the season after sustaining another stress fracture in his left tibia. He made his debut for the team in November 2015, and the Mavericks waived him in July 2016.
JaVale signed with the Golden State Warriors in September 2016, and the team won the NBA Finals in 2017 and 2018. The Warriors re-signed him to a one-year contract in August 2017, then he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in July 2018. In December 2018, McGee missed seven games because he was suffering from a respiratory infection. During a March 2019 game against the Brooklyn Nets, he scored 33 points, a career high. The Lakers won the NBA Finals in 2020. JaVale was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in November 2020, and he returned to the Denver Nuggets in March 2021. He signed with the Phoenix Suns in August 2021, and in July 2022, he made a return to the Dallas Mavericks. McGee was also a member of the 2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team and won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games in August 2021 after the games were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. JaVale and his mother became the first Olympic gold medal-winning mother and son in history.
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Personal Life
In 2013, JaVale established the non-profit organization Juglife Foundation, which is dedicated to "providing clean, safe drinking water in underdeveloped areas of the world." He has hosted several celebrity softball games to raise funds for Juglife Foundation, and some of his fellow NBA players have participated. Money raised from the softball games has been used to pay for water education tours, and the organization's funds have gone toward building wells in Africa and improving water quality in McGee's hometown, Flint, Michigan. Juglife Foundation has also teamed up with the charity Hope 4 Kids International to build wells in Uganda. JaVale has two daughters, Genevieve and Everleigh, with his girlfriend Giselle Ramirez, who he has been dating since 2015.
In 2017, McGee decided to commit to a vegan diet. He told "GQ" the following year, "I went vegan for a couple of months, just to lose weight immediately. It wasn't for the moral aspect back then. It was more because once you go vegan, it sheds the bad fat real fast. I do that before the season, but I've been fully vegan for about five to six months now since the season started, and probably a month before." JaVale owns a recording studio in Inglewood, and he released a self-titled album in 2018. He also produces records under the name Pierre, and he co-produced the 2020 Justin Bieber song "Available" with Sasha Sirota and Poo Bear.
Real Estate
In 2015, McGee paid $2.405 million for a 6,263 square foot home in the Encino area of Los Angeles. He put the former home of singer Marc Anthony on the market for $3 million in November 2019, and it sold for $2.49 million in October 2020. The home includes five bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms, a chef's kitchen, and home theater, and the property features a swimming pool, spa, outdoor bar, and gazebo.
