Finding Fan Favorites: Legend Pamela McGee’s legacy is just beginning
Pamela McGee’s legacy is the best story in USC basketball history.
From attending high school in Flint, Mich. to becoming the matriarch of one of basketball’s best families, helping her teams bring championships home is what McGee does.
McGee burst onto the USC scene after leading her high school team to undefeated seasons in both of her final two years, both of which ended in Michigan state championships. She won those championships alongside her twin sister Paula, a prodigious hooper herself.
Diehard USC hoops fans should be familiar with what came next. Pamela and Paula both committed to USC and brought their championship winning ways with them. The sensational sisters teamed up with fellow women’s hoops legends Cynthia Cooper and Cheryl Miller to form the swaggiest, most dominant basketball team in USC history.
The fearsome four won USC’s only hoops national championships in back-to-back years, 1983 and 1984. In a time before the WNBA, those NCAA title teams put women’s basketball on the map in Los Angeles.
To top it off, Pamela won a gold medal with the USA women’s basketball team at the 1984 Olympics.
Pamela played out most of her professional career in international leagues, but returned to the U.S. in 1997 as a headlining player in the inaugural WNBA season. She played one season for the Sacramento Monarchs before finishing her career back in L.A. with the Sparks.
Following her illustrious career, McGee was elected into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 and had her No. 30 jersey retired by USC that same year.
That career makes her one of USC basketball’s greatest. What happened after is what sets her apart in USC hoops lore.
During her career, McGee gave birth to two children, including her son, JaVale, who currently plays in the NBA. JaVale has won three NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors and L.A. Lakers and has a chance to win another this year with the top-seeded Phoenix Suns.
Even more remarkably, JaVale won a gold medal during the 2020 Olympics as a member of the USA men’s basketball team. JaVale and Pamela’s golds make them the first mother-son duo in basketball history to win a gold medal each.
Yet, that is not all. Pamela’s other child, Imani McGee-Stafford, grew up to be a dominant frontcourt player like her mom and brother. She was drafted by the Chicago Sky in the first round of the 2016 WNBA draft, and after sitting out two years to pursue her law degree, she is attempting to return to the Sky after playing in the Athletes Unlimited league.
If you’re keeping track at home, the McGee’s’ familial feat is a first in history. The McGee family is the first ever with a WNBA mother, an NBA son and a WNBA daughter. Let us not forget that Pamela’s sister, Paula, is also a national champion and USC legend.
Move over, Lavar Ball. L.A.’s best basketball family has Pamela McGee at the center of it.
Few people are going to admit that though. It’s unlikely that you’re going to hear the McGee name mentioned amongst other basketball family royalty names like Ball, Curry and Antetokounmpo.
There’s a simple reason why Pamela won’t get the respect she and her family deserve, and it’s because of a larger problem: People have historically failed to give women’s hoopers the respect they deserve.
Despite the international popularity of the game of basketball, the WNBA’s fanbase is remarkably small. Because of this, the WNBA actually loses money every year that it operates, and many star players have to play overseas or work odd jobs in the offseason.
WNBA haters will make excuses about why they are not a fan, but the real reason comes down to the age-old, boy’s club opinion that only men can play sports at the highest level.
Unfortunately, that means most people weren’t paying attention when Pamela McGee was winning championships while raising championship-caliber kids.
As a single mother for much of her life, McGee was one of the women’s players who had to work other jobs in the offseason to help raise her kids, including part time teaching jobs, yet another underappreciated occupation. Maintaining her career while pouring into her kids is quite an amazing feat.
It’s unfortunately too late to watch Pamela play basketball. However, we can still appreciate what she did for the WNBA and basketball as a whole and celebrate her accomplishments as a parent by cheering on her children.
So when you watch JaVale throw down dunks in the NBA playoffs or see Imani balling her way back to the WNBA, think of Pamela.
After all, we in the Trojan family love other successful families.
Ethan Inman is a freshman writing about exceptional USC athletic alumni who are relatively unknown despite their achievements. His column, “Finding Fan Favorites,” runs every other Thursday.