Former Duke Blue Devil Jared McCain Opens Up About His Time in Oklahoma City

What a whirlwind of a year it’s been for Jared McCain.

The Duke alum has had an up and down career as a professional not because of poor performance, but because he’s been often-injured.

When he was drafted in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers, there was hope that he would be the point guard of the future. But a meniscus tear in his rookie year, and a UCL tear in his second season, ultimately forced then-General Manager Daryl Morey to trade him.

And it was a blessing for the former Blue Devil.

The Oklahoma City Thunder traded a first-round pick and a trio of second-round picks in order to win McCain’s services, and he played a pivotal role in the Thunder’s chase to win a second-consecutive NBA Championship.

As a player that is still early in his entry-level contract, McCain didn’t envision in the slightest that he’d be competing in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.

“It's been pretty insane,” he told the media on locker clean out day. “I was writing in my journal last night, how if you told me four months ago that I would start in some Western Conference Finals games and play the role that I was able to play, not that I thought you were crazy, but I would look at you a little weird.”

McCain was exceptional in his short stint this season with the Thunder. While he mainly served as a backup guard to Cason Wallace, he was productive as ever, averaging 10.4 points per game and shooting 39% from 3-point land.

But it wasn’t all easy for McCain. Even on a championship-level team, there were still plenty of growing pains.

“I think [when] Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] and I think Ajay [Mitchell] was injured too, to come in and be able to kind of play through some failures and play through some mistakes, that was great for me and learning about this team… I never had expectations for myself coming in. Once I knew that I can provide some help for this team, it was almost like, let me. I want to do anything I can to help this team win.”

With a healthy offseason coming and a full training camp with the Thunder coming up, McCain has an opportunity to play an even more substantial role for a championship team.

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