37-year-old McGee bids farewell to the NBA and joins the defending NBL champion

On August 2, the defending Australian NBL League champion Illavara Hawks officially announced that they had reached a one-year contract with 37-year-old former NBA champion center Jamal McGee. This veteran with 16 years of NBA experience will go to the southern hemisphere in the new season and start a new chapter in the Australian League.

The three-time champion, and the NBA career ended. As the No. 18 pick in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft, McGee's NBA career lasted for 16 seasons, with nine teams, namely the Wizards, Nuggets, 76ers, Mavericks, Warriors, Lakers, Cavaliers, Suns and Kings. He played in a total of 909 regular season games, averaging 7.6 points and 5 rebounds per game. What is most praised is that he has won the NBA championship trophy three times with the Golden State Warriors (2017, 2018) and the Los Angeles Lakers (2020). Joining the NBL this time also means that his brilliant NBA player career is likely to come to an end.

Last season, the Ilawara Hawks finally won the NBL championship as the regular season champion. McGee's joining has undoubtedly added an important weight to the team's defense of the title in the new season.

Last season, McGee did not appear in the NBA, but played for the Baamon Cattlemen in the Puerto Rico League. Missing the NBA for two consecutive years marks the basically end of his NBA chapter as a player.

It is worth mentioning that McGee is still receiving a salary from the Dallas Mavericks. In 2023, the Mavericks used the "deferred payment" clause to lay off McGee and shared his remaining two-year contract worth $11.74 million into five years of payment. This means that McGee can still receive more than $2.3 million from the Mavericks every year until the 2027-28 season (average $2.348 million per year).

From the new core of the NBA three-time champion to the defending NBL champion, 37-year-old McGee is continuing his love and pursuit of basketball in another way. Can his experience, energy and championship bloodline help the Ilawara Hawks achieve new glory in the Australian arena? In the NBL arena in the new season, the veteran's performance is worth looking forward to.