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The calendar has flipped to August. Which means we're in the dog days of the NBA's year-round calendar. Little will happen over the next two months as teams across the league prepare for the 2026-27 season. Before we move on, though, let's reflect one last time on last year.
The Oklahoma City Thunder had a league-best 64-18 regular-season record. Juggling injuries all year, they overcame notable absences all year. Alas, they fell short of a second NBA championship with a 2026 Western Conference Finals exit.
To reflect on their 2025-26 season, Thunder Wire will conduct player grades for all 20 players who suited up for them this past year. Twelfth up is Jared McCain, who joined OKC halfway through as an NBA trade deadline addition:
2025-26 statistics:
- 10.4 points
- 2.0 rebounds
- 1.3 assists
- 46.2% shooting
- 39.1% 3-point shooting
- 85.3% free-throw shooting
Advanced stats:
- True-shooting percentage: 59.3%
- Usage rate: 23.2%
- Win shares: 1.1
- VORP: 0.1
Significant Percentile Finishes:
- Isolation scorer: 33.6 percentile
- P&R ball-handler: 31.2 percentile
- Handoff scorer: 98.5 percentile
Contract:
- 2026-27: $4.4 million
- 2027-28: $6.8 million (team option)
Thoughts:
Seeing his entire world turned upside down, McCain gutted through his first lesson that the NBA can be a cold business. He was one of the more surprising guys moved at the 2026 NBA trade deadline. The Philadelphia 76ers traded him to the Thunder. The latter banked on the buy-low move. It only took a few months for it to pay dividends.
Even though the Thunder didn't go back-to-back, McCain ended up being one of the more positive stories. He learned on the fly in the final two months of the regular season. By the end of the NBA playoffs, he became a postseason hero as he almost helped OKC pull off a David-esque upset. Even as the deepest team in the league, their acquisition of the 22-year-old shows how forward-thinking they remain. No such thing as idly sitting by after an NBA championship run.
Things didn't work out for McCain on the Sixers. Injuries completely buried him on the depth chart. After a sizzling start, he missed most of his rookie year with a torn meniscus. And then torn thumb ligaments sidelined him to start last season. By the time he returned, Philadelphia had VJ Edgecombe replace him as Tyrese Maxey's backcourt partner. There was little room for him to grow. So the Thunder offered a fresh start.
In a bench role, McCain excelled on the Thunder. As OKC dealt with injuries all year, he turned into a double-digit scorer. The microwave scorer showed he's not afraid to put up shot attempts. He also showed some independence as he created most of his offense with little help. When he got into a rhythm, it completely brought the OKC crowd alive.
As a wildcard element, McCain wrote quite the storybook in the NBA playoffs. The first two rounds? Not much happened. He was on the outside of OKC's rotation. It seldom needed to shake things up with two straight playoff series sweeps. But then the Western Conference Finals happened. He eventually stamped his name on the epic seven-game series duel. With Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell out for the latter part of the series, he had two 20-plus scoring games to even force a Game 7.
When the Thunder desperately needed a shot-maker, McCain stepped up. Because of that, he'll forever be a fan favorite. A pretty strong early impression to make for somebody with just three months of basketball under his belt with his new NBA organization. Now, he'll have a chance to help OKC keep its title window open for the next few years as a complementary piece.
Moving Forward:
The deck is cleared. After the Thunder spent the offseason waving goodbye to a few familiar faces, McCain will have a real opportunity to write his name in Sharpie in OKC's rotation. Plenty of minutes and possessions are up for grabs. Safe to assume the 22-year-old should confidently absorb a bunch of them like a sponge. They're banking on him to improve. Especially with his first healthy NBA offseason underway.
The Thunder will need McCain to continue to be a microwave scorer. The outside jumper is his top weapon. He can play both off-ball and on-ball. The catch-and-shoot variety is there. He also showed he can pull up from deep on his own. All he needs is one textbook screen to create a smidget of space. The range is also stellar. That's been something most modern-day gunners have added to their bag in recent years.
If anything, McCain can occasionally get tunnel vision. Of course, that's a problem you love to deal with. Especially considering the inverse of it. Even though it was his first taste of NBA playoff basketball, he showed very little frightfulness at the magnitude of the moments. You must have role players with a quick memory. Can't get too lost inside your own head and second-guess your process.
Now, McCain's biggest area to improve is within the perimeter. Part of his shot diet is drives to the rim. But those numbers suggest he's struggled to finish in the paint. He's forced too easily to take wild shot attempts or gets rejected at the rim. That must improve. Either by being a better play-finisher or just completely removing that from his repertoire. Other OKC role players have met that fork in the road. Not that long ago, Lu Dort chose the latter path.
I love what McCain brings to the table. Even if the advanced stats are cynical about him. He's an offense-first guy. You need that type of balance on your depth chart. And considering he still has two years on his rookie-scale contract, the Thunder have plenty of time to make a long-term decision. It's going to be an important third year for the 22-year-old. If he wants to stick around for the rest of this title window, he has to show how indispensable he is to OKC's second-unit offense.
Final Grade: B-plus
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: 2025-26 Thunder player grades: Jared McCain
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