How Warriors’ JaVale McGee balances budding music career with basketball

Inspiration struck Monday evening. Back in the Bay Area after several days sampling trap music in Atlanta, JaVale McGee retreated to his makeshift in-home studio — essentially, a MacBook, keyboard and Beats by Dre headphones — to give the tunes in his mind a platform.

Within two hours, he had made four beats. Tracks deemed worthy will be sent to a rapper or singer of McGee’s choosing — his contact list is loaded with everyone from Grammy Award winners to little-known up-and-comers — for a round of vocals. If the end result is up to McGee’s standards, it will be included on an album tentatively slated to drop before Golden State opens the playoffs next month.