More popularly known for his on-court mishaps and poor decisions, newly-acquired Golden State Warriors center, JaVale McGee, is looking to put them all behind him this season.

Now with a new team, the 7-foot “Shaqtin' A Fool” MVP is putting in a lot of work to compete for his spot. It has not gone unnoticed as he has received high praise from his teammate Andre Iguodala and his head coach, Steve Kerr.

McGee sees this stint with the Warriors as a fresh start for him as he wants to resurrect his career. Speaking to Anthony Slater of The Mercury News, the 28-year-old discussed why he thinks he did not generate a lot of interest from teams this summer and stated his case as to why he thinks he deserves a roster spot in the league:

“It’s definitely the injury. Because I haven’t done anything else in this league to not be on a team. I haven’t had any drug cases, I haven’t had any DUIs. I’m not a bad guy. You can’t go to one person in the league and they’ll say ‘JaVale is a bad guy, a bad influence.’ You know what I’m saying? I don’t go out. I don’t drink. It has to be the injury. That’s the only logical thing.”

As for the title he got from Shaquille O'Neal's segment on TNT, he had this to say about it:

“Fans think it’s real, like that’s real life and they think I’m a dumb person. It’s just really disappointing that grown men, 50, 40 year olds are having America’s funniest home videos of a player. And then making it a hashtag and really just trying to ruin someone’s career over basketball mistakes.”

JaVale McGee may indeed be a really good person and not dumb as how fans see him. But in order for him to be thought of otherwise, he has to show maturity on his game and contribute to the Warriors off the bench this season. If he plays up to his potential, fans will surely notice it and will start to change their perception of him.