The Shanghai Sharks have now assembled a recognizable veteran pairing in the form of JaVale McGee and D’Angelo Russell. The two stars have previously played for multiple common franchises despite never being teammates, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks.
Now, per BasketNews, the two will play together for the Chinese outfit. Russell's arrival came after the Memphis Grizzlies waived him on Sept. 25, while McGee joins following a season in China with the Beijing Ducks.
The moves give Shanghai two players with extensive NBA resumes and more than two decades of combined league experience. Shanghai now becomes the first team to unite the two veterans as their tenures previously never overlapped.
McGee spent the 2025-26 campaign with the Beijing Ducks, appearing in 26 CBA games and averaging 11.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Before that, he also played professionally in Australia and Puerto Rico.
Article Continues BelowSelected 18th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft, he appeared in 909 regular-season NBA games across 16 seasons, including 343 starts. He finished his NBA career averaging 7.6 points and five rebounds in 16.1 minutes per game while playing for 10 franchises. McGee also won two NBA championships with Golden State in 2017 and 18 before winning his third ring with the Lakers in 2020.
His most recent NBA action came during the 2023-24 season with the Sacramento Kings. He appeared in 46 games, averaging four points and 2.7 rebounds in limited minutes. Since then, he has fully transitioned to the international scene, also playing for teams such as the Vaqueros de Bayamón and the Illawarra Hawks.
Meanwhile, for Russell, the Sharks will be his first international team outside the NBA.