Two months earlier, the center's NBA career was on life support when he didn't get a guaranteed contract in free agency. [...] with the Warriors nursing a one-point lead over Minnesota, he was receiving the kind of welcome reserved only for fan favorites. A training-camp invitee who earned Golden State's final roster spot in preseason, McGee has emerged as an important playmaker off the bench. On a team with no other prototypical interior defender, McGee is a consistent threat to swat shots. Head coach Steve Kerr views him as the ideal change-of-pace option at a position anchored by the more ground-bound Zaza Pachulia. On a team stocked with elite shooters and passers, McGee's knack for catching lobs adds another dimension to the league's most prolific offense. When a penchant for bloopers and a slow-healing leg injury limited him to 62 games over three seasons, leaving him with no guaranteed offers this past summer, he became more receptive to coaching. McGee stays after practices to work with assistant coach Jarron Collins on his footwork and low-post positioning. When McGee joined Golden State for training camp, casual NBA fans knew him more as a punchline than as someone who...