One of the Los Angeles Lakers’ championship pieces is officially returning to the team next season. Starting center JaVale McGee will reportedly exercise his player option to remain with the team next year, his third with the purple and gold. McGee will earn $4.2 million for the 2020-21 season. The news was first reported by Shams Charania and The Athletic.
Lakers center JaVale McGee will exercise his $4.2M player option for 2020-21 season, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 19, 2020
McGee started all 68 regular-season games he appeared in last season, averaging 6.6 points and 5.7 rebounds in 16.6 minutes played per game. The 32-year-old made 63.7% of his shot attempts and was a major part of the Lakers’ stellar defense with his rim production to the tune 1.4 blocks per game.
McGee did not feature heavily in the postseason, however, with the Lakers usually choosing to play Anthony Davis at center for the majority of their minutes and going small when he sat. The big man played in 14 games but averaged just 9.6 minutes in those appearances with three of them coming off the bench. McGee obviously has major limitations that make him a liability at times in the playoffs but the Nevada product’s main value to the Lakers has been keeping Davis fresh for the playoffs.
McGee will be chasing his fourth championship in five years and his second with the Lakers in the upcoming season.
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