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Pamela McGee

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Pamela Denise McGee (born December 1, 1962)[1] is an American former professional women's basketball player, Olympic gold medalist, and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. She is the mother of NBA player JaVale McGee and WNBL player Imani McGee-Stafford.

Pamela McGee
Personal information
Born (1962-12-01) December 1, 1962 (age 61)
Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High schoolFlint Northern (Flint, Michigan)
CollegeUSC (1980–1984)
WNBA draft1997: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Playing career1984–1998
PositionCenter / power forward
Number30
Career history
1984Dallas Diamonds
1997Sacramento Monarchs
1998Los Angeles Sparks
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
Medals
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles Team
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas Team
FIBA World Championship for Women
Silver medal – second place 1983 Rio de Janeiro Team
Jones Cup
Gold medal – first place 1984 Taipei Team

Early life

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McGee grew up in Flint, Michigan, where she attended Flint Southwestern Academy before graduating from Flint Northern High School. At Northern High School she was an Academic All-American and won two back-to-back state championships in women's basketball and women's track. She set the state record in the shotput in track and field. She was the MVP of the Parade All-American game, which hosted the top players in the nation.

McGee went on to win back-to-back NCAA Championships as an All-American at the University of Southern California, where she was a teammate of twin sister Paula, Cynthia Cooper and Cheryl Miller.

USA Basketball

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McGee was selected to be a member of the team representing the US at the 1983 Pan American Games held in Caracas, Venezuela. The team won all five games to earn the gold medal for the event. McGee averaged 3.4 points per game.[2]

McGee played for the USA National team in the 1983 World Championships, held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The team won six games, but lost two against the Soviet Union. In an opening round game, the USA team had a nine-point lead at halftime, but the Soviets came back to take the lead, and a final shot by the USA failed to drop, leaving the USSR team with a one-point victory 85–84. The USA team won their next four games, setting up the gold medal game against USSR. This game was also close, and was tied at 82 points each with six seconds to go in the game. The Soviets Elena Chausova received the inbounds pass and hit the game winning shot in the final seconds, giving the USSR team the gold medal with a score of 84–82. The USA team earned the silver medal. McGee averaged 4.2 points per game.[3]

In 1984, the USA sent its national team to the 1984 William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan, for pre-Olympic practice. The team easily beat each of the eight teams they played, winning by an average of just under 50 points per game. McGee averaged 6.5 points per game.[4]

She continued with the national team to represent the US at the 1984 Olympics. The team won all six games to claim the gold medal. McGee averaged 6.2 points per game.[5][6]

Professional career

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McGee started her professional career with the Dallas Diamonds in the Women's American Basketball Association where she played alongside her sister Paula.[7] She later played in Brazil, Spain and Italy, and was a four-time Italian League All-Star. She won world championships at all three locations.

On April 28, 1997 McGee was the 2nd overall pick in the 1997 WNBA Draft, being selected by the Sacramento Monarchs. Her debut game was played on June 21, 1997 in a 73-61 win over the Utah Starzz where she recorded 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.[8] She would only play for the Monarchs during her rookie season, averaging 10.6 points and 4.4 rebounds, before being traded to the Los Angeles Sparks on April 9, 1998. In her first game with the Sparks on June 11, 1998, McGee would help defeat the same team she defeated in her first-ever WNBA game, the Utah Starzz. The Sparks defeated the Starzz 89-83 with McGee recording 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.[9]

McGee played her entire second season in the WNBA with the Sparks, averaging 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds. This would be her final season in the WNBA; it concluded on August 19, 1998, in a 71-80 defeat of the Sparks by the Houston Comets. McGee scored two points and grabbed one rebound.[10]

For her accomplishments at the collegiate, professional, and Olympic levels, McGee was inducted into the 2012 class of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.[11]

Statistics

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College statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1980-81 USC 34 509 54.5% 50.6% 8.6 1.0 15.0
1981-82 USC 27 529 57.5% 63.6% 11.6 1.6 19.6
1982-83 USC 33 608 61.0% 63.2% 10.0 1.3 18.4
1983-84 USC 33 568 59.5% 51.9% 9.7 0.9 17.2
Career 127 2214 58.1% 61.5% 9.9 1.2 17.4

Source[12]

WNBA statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
1997 Sacramento 27 23 25.6 .459 .286 .705 4.4 0.7 1.0 0.5 2.7 10.6
1998 Los Angeles 30 22 19.0 .437 .000 .614 4.8 0.4 0.8 0.8 1.8 6.8
Career 2 years, 2 teams 57 45 22.1 .449 .182 .670 4.6 0.6 0.9 0.7 2.2 8.6

Personal life

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McGee lives in Annandale, Virginia. She has a daughter, former WNBA player Imani McGee-Stafford, who currently plays for the Perth Lynx of the Australian WNBL; and a son, NBA player and NBA champion JaVale McGee,[13] currently with the Sacramento Kings. McGee is the first WNBA player to have a child play in the NBA and WNBA.[14]

JaVale McGee is the first son of a WNBA player to ever play in the NBA.[15] Pamela and JaVale both played professionally for Dallas, Los Angeles and Sacramento franchises; both also won Olympic gold medals playing for the United States.[16] Pamela McGee's husband, "Big" George Montgomery, played basketball at the University of Illinois in the early 1980s. In 1985, he was a second-round pick of the Portland Trail Blazers, but he never played in the NBA.[17]

McGee earned a degree in economics while playing basketball at USC. She balanced her international basketball career with raising both children, home schooling, coaching, and teaching school in the off season.[18][19]

In 2014, McGee and JaVale starred in their own reality television miniseries, Mom's Got Game.[20]

In 2021, JaVale won an Olympic gold medal for USA Basketball, making them the first mother-and-son duo to win Olympic gold.[21]

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Pamela McGee". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  2. ^ "Ninth Pan American Games -- 1983". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  3. ^ "Ninth World Championship For Women -- 1983". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  4. ^ "1984 WOMEN'S R. WILLIAM JONES CUP". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  5. ^ "Pamela McGee". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020.
  6. ^ "Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad – 1984". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  7. ^ Mike Digiovanna (April 20, 1985). "Pam and Paula McGee : Double figures: Basketball-Playing Twins Still Together; Not Such a Far Cry From Olympics". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  8. ^ "Sacramento Monarchs at Utah Starzz, June 21, 1997".
  9. ^ "Los Angeles Sparks at Utah Starzz, June 11, 1998".
  10. ^ "Los Angeles Sparks at Houston Comets, August 19, 1998".
  11. ^ "Pamela McGee". Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  12. ^ "USC Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  13. ^ Ivan Carter (July 1, 2008). "With an Assist From Mom, McGee Finds Way to NBA". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  14. ^ "Mother-son legacy a first for WNBA/NBA – NBA – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  15. ^ "Mother-son legacy a first for WNBA/NBA". ESPN.com. May 16, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  16. ^ "Why McGee-to-Kings is full-circle moment for him and his mom". NBC Sports Bay Area & California. September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  17. ^ "Mother-son legacy a first for WNBA/NBA". May 16, 2008.
  18. ^ Wnba's Mcgee, Daughter Deserve Better, Chicago Tribune, Melissa Isaacson, October 11, 1998. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  19. ^ Like Mother, Like Son, The Ringer, Katie Baker, June 7, 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  20. ^ Highkin, Sean (December 23, 2013). "JaVale McGee is starring in a reality show with his mom". USA Today Sports. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  21. ^ Ashton Edmunds (August 7, 2021). "Pamela and JaVale McGee become the first mother-son gold-medal duo in Olympics history". ESPN. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
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