JaVale McGee has joined the Shanghai Sharks, giving the Chinese Basketball Association club another highly recognisable former NBA player alongside D'Angelo Russell.
The three-time NBA champion has become a Shanghai player after spending last season with the Beijing Ducks.
McGee brings extensive NBA experience to the Sharks. The veteran center spent 16 seasons in the league and won three championships, claiming back-to-back titles with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018 before winning again with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
His most recent NBA season came with the Sacramento Kings in 2023-24 before his career moved overseas.
McGee subsequently played for Vaqueros de Bayamon in Puerto Rico and the Illawarra Hawks in Australia's NBL before joining Beijing in the CBA last season.
He averaged 11.3 points and 6.1 rebounds across 26 appearances for the Ducks.
McGee now moves from Beijing to Shanghai, where he will team up with Russell following the former NBA All-Star's move to the Sharks this week.
Russell signed with Shanghai after being waived by the Memphis Grizzlies, meaning the Sharks have now added two veterans with a combined 27 seasons of NBA experience within days of each other.
Shanghai clearly isn't being shy about adding NBA experience.
D'Angelo Russell was already an eye-catching addition. Following him with a three-time NBA champion makes the Sharks considerably more interesting heading into the new CBA season.
McGee's move isn't quite the same story as Russell's.
Russell is heading overseas immediately after an 11-year NBA career. McGee has already been on the international circuit, playing in Puerto Rico, Australia and China since his last NBA season.
And unlike Russell, McGee already knows the CBA.
He spent last season with Beijing and now moves to a Shanghai team that he faced from the opposite side during the previous campaign.
What Shanghai is getting is experience on an enormous scale.
Russell brings NBA-level creation and playmaking in the backcourt. McGee brings size, rim protection and a career that includes three NBA championships.
That doesn't automatically make Shanghai unbeatable, but it certainly makes them one of the more fascinating teams to follow outside the NBA this season.
LEAN EDGE VERDICT
One former NBA name heading to Shanghai was interesting.
Two within a matter of days starts to look like a very deliberate strategy.
D'Angelo Russell and JaVale McGee arrive at completely different stages of their careers, but together they give Shanghai an extraordinary amount of NBA experience.
McGee has already proved willing to take his career around the world. Russell is only beginning that chapter.
