Pamela Denise McGee (born December 1, 1962) is an American former professional

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large parts via women's college compet ...

player,

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

gold medalist, and

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

inductee. She is the mother of

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player

JaVale McGee JaVale Lindy McGee ( ; born January 19, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Vaqueros de Bayamón of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for the Nevada Wolf Pack and was selected 18th over ...

and WNBL player

Imani McGee-Stafford Imani Trishawn McGee-Stafford (born October 11, 1994) is an American professional basketball player. She played college basketball for University of Texas at Austin. College In 2015, while at Texas, McGee-Stafford was awarded the Honda Inspira ...

Early life

McGee grew up in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

, where she attended

Flint Southwestern Academy Flint Southwestern Academy (FSA, Southwestern Academy, or Flint Southwestern) is located in Flint, Michigan, United States. This school is a part of the Flint Community Schools. In 1989 Flint Academy closed and the school merged with Southwes ...

before graduating from

Flint Northern High School Flint Northern High School was a public secondary school located in Flint, Michigan, United States. The original building "#1" was built in 1928 and demolished in the 1980s, after being the home of the Flint Academy. It was one of the high scho ...

. 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 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...

as an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, where she was a teammate of twin sister Paula, Cynthia Cooper and

Cheryl Miller Cheryl Deann Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA on TNT, NBA games on Turner Sports, TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked ...

USA Basketball

McGee was selected to be a member of the team representing the US at the 1983 Pan American Games held in

Caracas, Venezuela Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

. The team won all five games to earn the gold medal for the event. McGee averaged 3.4 points per game. McGee played for the USA National team in the 1983 World Championships, held in

Sao Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of ...

. 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. In 1984, the USA sent its national team to the 1984

William Jones Cup The William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament (), also known as the William Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in sports, 1977 ...

competition in

Taipei, Taiwan , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, 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. 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.

Professional career

McGee started her professional career with the

Dallas Diamonds The Dallas Diamonds was a women's Professional sports, professional American football team in the Women's Football Alliance (WFA). The Diamonds were made up of 46 Player (game), players and a coaching staff of 10. The Diamonds won four nation ...

in the

Women's American Basketball Association The Women's American Basketball Association (WABA) is a summer women's basketball league that began in 2017 with seven teams. It is a sister league of the American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major ...

where she played alongside her sister Paula. 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 The 1997 WNBA draft was the 1st draft held by the WNBA through which teams could select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. Unlike later drafts, this draft was unique because there were three d ...

, being selected by the

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Aren ...

. Her debut game was played on June 21, 1997 in a 73-61 win over the

Utah Starzz The Utah Starzz were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Salt Lake City. They began play in the 1997 WNBA season as one of the league's eight original teams. History One of the eight original WNBA teams, the Starzz ...

where she recorded 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. 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 The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

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. 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 The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

. McGee scored two points and grabbed one rebound. 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.

Statistics

College statistics

Source

WNBA statistics

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1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

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Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

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1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, style="text-align:left;",

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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Personal life

McGee lives in

Annandale, Virginia Annandale () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia.Imani McGee-Stafford Imani Trishawn McGee-Stafford (born October 11, 1994) is an American professional basketball player. She played college basketball for University of Texas at Austin. College In 2015, while at Texas, McGee-Stafford was awarded the Honda Inspira ...

, who currently plays for the

Perth Lynx The Perth Lynx are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at both WA Basketball Centre, Bendat Basketball Centre ...

of the Australian WNBL; and a son,

player and NBA champion

, currently with the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. McGee is the first WNBA player to have a child play in the NBA and WNBA. JaVale McGee is the first son of a WNBA player to ever play in the NBA. Pamela and JaVale both played professionally for Dallas, Los Angeles and Sacramento franchises; both also won Olympic gold medals playing for the United States. Pamela McGee's husband, "Big" George Montgomery, played basketball at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in the early 1980s. In

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, he was a second-round pick of the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

, but he never played in the NBA. 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. In 2014, McGee and JaVale starred in their own reality television miniseries, '' Mom's Got Game''. In 2021, JaVale won an Olympic gold medal for

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA, and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States ...

, making them the first mother-and-son duo to win Olympic gold.

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McGee, Pamela 1962 births Living people American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Michigan Basketball players at the 1983 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Flint, Michigan Centers (basketball) Identical twins Los Angeles Sparks players Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Sportspeople from Humboldt County, California People from Annandale, Virginia Basketball players from Fairfax County, Virginia Power forwards Sacramento Monarchs players American twins USC Trojans women's basketball players Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen United States women's national basketball team players