Growing up in Vallejo, Chance McMillian always wanted to play for the Golden State Warriors. He’ll get that opportunity, although when he takes the court is still in question.
McMillian signed a deal with the Warriors on Monday morning, however he couldn’t discuss the details of the contract yet.
“It’s surreal for sure and a childhood dream come true for me,” McMillian told the Times-Herald on Monday. “I’m still soaking it all in. The first person I called was my mother, who was so happy she didn’t know what to say for a few seconds.”
The deal comes about four months after the NBA draft when the Golden State Warriors signed McMillian to an Exhibition 10 contract. McMillian has dealt with a left ankle injury since that time and hasn’t seen action. However, the Texas-Tech graduate that first played for Jesse Bethel and St. Patrick-St. Vincent in high school has constantly showed his prescience at Warriors’ facilities.
“I’ve been working on getting healthy and I’m at the point now where I’m just now starting to jog,” McMillian said. “I’ve been working out and talking with some Warriors’ players like Gary Payton II and they’ve been telling me to keep my head down and focus on the present. Don’t look to the past, don’t look too far ahead, just stay in the moment.”
McMillian said one of the areas he wants to improve on the most is how he studies the game.
“I need to find out the tendencies of players better so I know what to expect when competing,” McMillian said.
The former Bethel standout wasn’t sure when he would be able to be back on the court again but was hoping it’s by the end of the month. The Warriors begin the regular season Oct. 21 at the Los Angeles Lakers. The home opener is two days later against the Denver Nuggets.
Six months ago McMillian played at Chase Center with his Texas Tech squad during March Madness. Although he was injured and couldn’t play in the Sweet 16 win over Arkansas, the former Jaguar scored 14 points in the Elite 8 for the Red Raiders in a loss two days later to Florida, who would end up winning the national championship.
In 2021, McMillian became the first player coached by both Dwayne Jones (ex-Bethel and Hogan) and Derek Walker (St. Pat’s) to compete in March Madness.
Bethel’s Chance McMillian elevates to the hoop for two of his 32 points in the Jaguars’ 78-71 win over Rodriguez in 2019 .(Chris Riley–Times-Herald File)
McMillian said he still talks with Jones just about every other day.
“I haven’t told him yet about the contract today, but I’ll be calling him soon, that’s for sure,” McMillian said, with a laugh.
Former Vallejo High and current Elite High head coach Duke Brown said in 2021 that he believed McMillian to be the first men’s player from Vallejo to be on a team in the men’s tournament since DeMarcus Nelson played in games for Duke from 2005 through 2008. Nelson, who is in the Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame, played for Vallejo before transferring to Sheldon of Sacramento. He later saw time in the NBA including a stint with the Golden State Warriors.
In a 2021 first-round loss to Iowa McMillian didn’t see much action, but had two rebounds and an assist. He appeared to have scored a basket near the end of the first half, but the shot didn’t beat the 30-second shot clock by about half a second.
In 2023 McMillian was back in the tournament with Grand Canyon and had a bigger role, although in another first-round loss, this time to Gonzaga. He played 38 minutes and scored 16 points and added four rebounds, four assists and one steal.
The next season McMillian transferred to Texas Tech. McMillian said that year he felt he’s was learning to play with more force.
However, the end result his junior year was another first-round loss. McMillian came off the bench but played the fourth-most minutes on the team with 31. He scored eight points on 4-for-9 shooting and added two rebounds and two steals.
During McMillian’s senior year, his role grew again. He played in 32 games and averaged over 14.2 points a game, third overall on the Red Raiders. He’s also grabbed four rebounds and 1.8 assists and 0.7 steals a game.