Thunder Starter Loves Jared McCain for Same Reason Duke Fans Did

When people talk about Duke players in the NBA, guys like Cooper Flagg, Jayson Tatum, and a lot of the stars that we see in the league from the Blue Devils are often the first to get spoken about. 

That's just the reality of how many talented players Duke has put in the NBA, though it's important to remember the role players we see in this league as well.

One of them is Jared McCain, the young shooting guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder. McCain, who had a standout rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers, was shockingly traded to Oklahoma City at the deadline. It didn't make any sense at the time, and after his playoff performance, it made even less sense.

When speaking to reporters about how he felt this year, especially with the Thunder, McCain admitted that if he had known he would be on a Western Conference playoff team at the end of the year, he would have looked at people a bit weird.

McCain, however, continued to say the same kinds of things he did at Duke, indicating that he would do whatever it takes for his team to win.

“I never had expectations for myself coming in,” he said, per Yahoo. “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.

“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.”

The coolest part about McCain is how he is off the court. While some have given him backlash for the things that he does, such as posting on TikTok, being very trendy, and other factors, it's awesome to see that he's just unapologetically himself.

No matter how anybody feels, he's going to go out there and do what Jared McCain wants to do. I absolutely love that about the young man, and so does Thunder starter Isaiah Hartenstein.

“I think he’s a special human being. I mean, I think just in general, no one will change the way he is. I think I’ve never seen someone so happy every single day and I think it just gives something to a locker room that… I can’t be mad looking at him, if that makes sense.”