Warriors’ JaVale McGee enjoys career renaissance

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SACRAMENTO — The idea came while JaVale McGee was scrolling through a web site for customized items.

To get back at Draymond Green for constantly posting pictures of napping teammates to social media, McGee ordered 15 blankets that feature an enormous picture of Green’s sleeping face. Late Wednesday night, during the team flight to Los Angeles, McGee handed the present to each Warriors player. Video of the exchange soon went viral.

“When you’re winning, you can do things and people don’t think, ‘Oh, he’s not serious,’” McGee said. “If I had done that and we had a losing record, people would be like, ‘Oh, look at this guy. He’s a cancer to the team.’”

Long anchored to the worst of labels, McGee is enjoying a career renaissance with Golden State. A player who spent most of his first eight NBA seasons as a punchline has emerged as an instant-energy big man for the league’s best club. Just as much as teammates appreciate his ability to run the floor, swat shots and hammer home alley-oops, they also appreciate McGee’s affable, introspective approach.

A self-described “nerd,” he is the first person they call when they have computer trouble. McGee’s penchant for pranks has kept the mood light. During in-depth conversations about this country’s socio-political climate, he is typically good for keen insight.

Golden State Warriors' JaVale McGee (1) during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Golden State Warriors' JaVale McGee (1) during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Warriors’ JaVale McGee enjoys career renaissance 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

“He’s not suddenly a better teammate or a better person,” said Andre Iguodala, who played with McGee in Denver in 2012-13. “Because the truth is, he’s always been that guy.”

When McGee joined the Warriors in September as a non-guaranteed training-camp invitee, his NBA career was on life support. A slow-healing leg injury had limited him to 62 games over his previous three seasons. Four years removed from signing a four-year, $44 million deal with the Nuggets, McGee was known more for his blooper reel than his athleticism.

Because he had toiled mostly for losing teams, many perceived his lighthearted disposition as a negative. His series of absentminded follies only supported the notion that he was a knucklehead. It became easy to dismiss McGee as another example of unrealized potential.

With no other prototypical interior defender, Golden State took a chance on the man who once had thrived in Denver for George Karl’s pace-and-space system. It wasn’t long before McGee carved out minutes as a change-of-speed option off the bench. By mid-January, during halftime of TNT’s telecast of a Cavaliers-Warriors game, his biggest critic felt compelled to compliment him.

“A lot of people think we’re hating on him,” said Shaquille O’Neal, who had given McGee a lifetime achievement award during his weekly bloopers segment, “Shaqtin’ a Fool.” “But I’ve been watching him, and he’s doing his job.”

McGee’s 68.4 shooting percentage easily would be the highest in franchise history if it holds. In the past two games, with Zaza Pachulia sidelined by a right rotator cuff strain, McGee has 20 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in 32 minutes.

He has become a fan favorite. Seldom does he check into games at Oracle Arena without hearing the roar of a capacity crowd.

Late Thursday night, after his postgame news conference, McGee was stopped in a Staples Center hallway. A man asked if he would pose for a picture with his young son. As his dad snapped the photo, the boy — no older than 6 — grinned and held his handwritten sign (“Ball out JaVale!”).

“Coming to the Warriors has been the greatest thing that’s happened for JaVale,” said B.J. Armstrong, McGee’s agent. “When you enter this league, you hope for a little luck. Nine years later, he found his place.”

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

Saturday’s game

Who: Warriors (43-7) at

Sacramento (19-3 1 )

When: 7:30 p.m.

TV/Radio: CSNBA/95.7