Former Phoenix Suns big JaVale McGee saw importance of business investments at Golden State

LAS VEGAS – JaVale McGee recalls cashing his first $50,000 check as a rookie thinking it can’t get any better than this.

“I was like, what I need a bank account for?” said a laughing McGee. “I got the cash, I’m good.”

Then he joined the Golden State Warriors in his ninth NBA season.

McGee saw that he wasn’t a businessman yet – and also saw what he could become.

“That’s the hub of venture capital,” McGee said of the Bay Area. “Being around those guys and see the people they were talking to, the companies they were investing in. Just seeing how they move and it was different from any team that I had been on and anything that I had seen.”

Winning two NBA championship with the Warriors (2017, 2018), McGee recalls talking to a person wearing ripped jeans and dirty tennis shoes who turned out to be worth millions.

“It’s such a different energy once I got there and then I realized this is a stepping stone and future generations, the McGee estate, the McGee family,” he continued. “It’s definitely important for athletes to use their stardom, even if you’re not a star, just use your access. We have access to so many things and so many people that we really don’t even know.”

Serving as a National Basketball Players Association’s Players Accelerator Player Ambassador, McGee was part of a panel discussion at last Saturday's  NBPA's 450 Culture Connect event in collaboration with a16z’s Cultural Leadership Fund at the Delano Hotel’s Skyfall Lounge.

The two-day event focused on the importance of making smart investments. McGee, now with the Dallas Mavericks, admitted investing in companies is risky, but he said having a great business team makes all the difference.

“My mission as an investor is to try to invest in companies that definitely will change the world,” said McGee, a 15-year NBA veteran who played for the Phoenix Suns last season. “When I tend to invest in companies, I don’t look at what’s going to happen in the next one or two years. I tend to think about how is this going to affect my family 15 years from now? How is it going to affect the world 15 years from now?”

McGee, 34, was joined by Megan Holston-Alexander, a partner with a16z Cultural Leadership Fund;  Nan Wang, CEO of Sleeper;  and Brett Goldstein, co-founder of Launch House.

“We are just incredibly excited about the partnership with the NBPA for a number of reasons,” said Holston-Alexander about a16z, a venture capital fund that focuses on early-stage growth and technology companies.

“We’ve got about $33 billion dollars under management spread across a number of funds. So, we invest in consumer, enterprise, crypto, biotech, a number of things.”

Que Gaskins, Interim President of THINK450, the innovation engine of the NBPA, moderated the discussion.

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“Don’t let your friends make bad investments and stay connected to the culture,” Gaskins said.

Gaskins explained the 450 came out by multiplying the number of teams (30) to the number of players a team can have (15).

“We wanted the name to be a mantra to remind ourselves every day that we come to work, we come to think about all 450 players, not just the top 10,” Gaskins said. “It’s also a signal to all your brands, partners that want to collaborate to think about leveraging basketball and leveraging the culture of basketball in any capacity.”

The discussion was the centerpiece of a pre-investor mixer filled with people aspiring to succeed in business like those on the panel.

“We help people do two things, leveling up and living better,” said Goldstein as Launch House is a private community focused on connecting and supporting top entrepreneurs.

“Leveling up is actually excelling in your career. Hitting those financial milestones. Living better is taking care of your mental health, taking care of your physical health. Being a better person.”

As for Sleeper, it’s a social sports app “focused on bringing people together through sports and gaming” that enables people to share video clips, text memes, and post news.

“Our mission is to strengthen friendships using sports as an excuse,” Wang said.

McGee sat in the center of the panel engaging a group of more than 100 people with his smile and sense of humor. In a way, McGee was literally showing the importance of social skills in business.

“I grew up in Flint, Michigan, in the hood, and being friendly isn’t really a thing,” McGee said. “You don’t go up and say ‘hi’ to a lot of people and I feel like my first two or three years in the league, I was like that. Then I started opening up more and started meeting new people.”

After Saturday’s mixer and panel discussion, McGee took pictures with the panel and was approached by two businessmen who were telling him about their company.

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McGee listened, provided feedback, kept listening and took pictures with the two men.

“You don’t really know what opportunities are out there until you speak up,” he said.

Former Suns guard Langston Galloway also attended the mixer as he has his own shoe brand, ETHICS. The next day, player-led companies made presentations to a panel of professional investors in a “Shark Tank” setting for feedback.

This was an opportunity for players to pitch their ideas and learn from the experience.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Raul Neto and former players Reggie Williams, Johan Petro, Lazar Hayward and Corsley Edwards participated.

“Our members are more than basketball players and have a proven track record as investors, entrepreneurs, board members, and principals of their own brands,” said Tamika Tremaglio, Executive Director of the NBPA, in a news release. “With the NBPA Players Accelerator Program, we want to ensure that our current and former members are receiving the best-in-class resources to learn, network, and grow as business titans in a creative and competitive environment.”

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Former Suns big JaVale McGee matured in business world with age