Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated was asked about his process in writing features and he responded by comparing what it's been like to interview Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to JaVale McGee.

"It really depends. How much do I get from the primary subject? That really tells the story," said Jenkins. "If you have someone like Kobe or LeBron it helps because they are excellent historians regarding the game and their own careers. Once I did a story on JaVale McGee and that was different. He was in the media and getting killed for doing all these stupid things so I wanted to know: who is this guy? We set up the interview and it was the most painful interview I’ve ever done. It was maybe three minutes long. He said maybe 1-2 words for every answer, so sometimes the primary subject doesn’t give the story. His Mother was incredible however. I talked to her for maybe 1-2 hours and she made the story. So, you have to find that strong voice. I don’t care much about quotes — I want the story. Start with a broad canvas and narrow it down as you go."