JaVale McGee

JaVale McGee explains why he took a ‘disrespectful’ 3 that upset the Wizards

Published Apr. 3, 2017 2:24 p.m. ET

Nunzio Ingrassia

In the waning moments of the Golden State Warriors’ 139-115 win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday, center JaVale McGee took a 3-pointer – a rarity for the big man – as the final seconds ticked away. But before McGee had a chance to release the shot, Wizards guard Brandon Jennings pushed him and was visibly upset about the attempt.

After the game, Jennings called McGee's shot “disrespectful” and said the Warriors were going after individual goals during the blowout win.

"It was very disrespectful. ... Let the clock run out," Jennings said, via CSN Mid-Atlantic. "It was already disrespectful that they were trying to get Draymond Green a triple-double, Steph (Curry) was out there with 40. I'm old-school. He better be glad he shot that three and didn't go to the rack."

McGee, who has attempted nine 3-pointers in his nine-year career, didn’t appear to be too upset with the incident, telling reporters that he was actually happy Jennings pushed him.

“I’m glad he pushed me to tell you the truth,” McGee said after the Warriors’ 11th straight win. “Like say he didn’t push me, right? I would have air-balled it and it would have looked horrible. See what I’m saying? So, shout out to Brandon Jennings.”

https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/848732664429400064

So why did McGee take the shot?

“I shot it because we didn’t want a turnover,” McGee said. “We’d rather have a missed shot than a turnover. If there was no shot clock, I wouldn’t have shot the ball.”

McGee is definitely one of a kind. Not many NBA players would give a player a shout out after that blatant foul. But when you’re on the team with the best record in the league, you can afford to take things in stride.

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JaVale McGee

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