Jared McCain has Quickly Added Scoring Spark for OKC Thunder

The Thunder made one of the more surprising moves at the NBA’s trade deadline, grabbing sharpshooting guard Jared McCain, who wasn’t previously thought to be available.

McCain was the No. 16 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and earned Rookie of the Year buzz in his debut season. He suffered a season-ending injury as a frosh, and would then see down production in Year 2 due to more injury.

Despite that, executives around the league still believed McCain to be a real steal for Oklahoma City. And through just 11 games, he’s proving that sentiment right.

Brian Windhorst on the Thunder trading for Jared McCain: “People in the league think this is an absolute steal.”
pic.twitter.com/tv9C7FbsM3
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 5, 2026

Tuesday’s bout against the Chicago Bulls was a prime example, as McCain offered his typical scoring spark off the bench in the form of a team-high 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting, with four threes, three rebounds and two steals.

Late in the first quarter, McCain would go on a mini run. With handling guards in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell all out due to injury, McCain was needed to handle the ball, and he did just that.

In the second half, he would continue hitting big shots to eventually lead the team in scoring.

Ultimately, McCain's production would help the Thunder to an eight-point win.

McCain’s played only two games alongside Gilgeous-Alexander, but his scoring punch has been much-needed for OKC. He’s a known factor as a 3-point shooter, dating back to his days sinking perimeter shots for the Duke Blue Devils, but his creation ability has also been a boon for the Thunder.

He has sneaky ability to create shots off the bounce, notably getting into the mid-range time and again for Oklahoma City. He’d already taken 14 non-rim two-pointers prior to Tuesday, having made a blistering 64% of those shots.

McCain was already scoring 11.8 points on 48% shooting with OKC, hitting on 43% of over four triples attempts per game, and Tuesday’s game is set to raise that. The sample is obviously small at just 10 games, though that would place him within the top-five on the roster in points per game, behind on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Ajay Mitchell.

There’s no guarantee that McCain is able to crack the team’s postseason rotation, nor should he be expected to so soon after his trading. His defense may not be up to Playoffs expectation, though head coach Mark Daigneault will undoubtedly test to see if the offense is hot intermittently.

For now, OKC sits at No. 1 in the Western Conference, just 3.0 games ahead of San Antonio. McCain has been a large part of helping OKC hold onto the rope, scoring in double-figures in eight of his 11 games.

The Thunder next take on the Knicks tonight at 6 p.m. CT in Madison Square Garden in New York, NY.