The Oklahoma City Thunder may not have closed out last season the way they wanted, but they did come away with something that could matter just as much going forward: Jared McCain.
Acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers last season, McCain quickly looked like more than just a useful addition. He became a major part of Oklahoma City’s run, especially during the Western Conference finals, when the Thunder were short on talent and needed scoring to stay afloat. Even though they eventually fell to the San Antonio Spurs in seven games, McCain’s production kept them in the fight.
That kind of scoring could end up being especially valuable next season for Jalen Williams.
Williams is coming off an injury-hit year that kept him from looking like himself for long stretches. After opening his career with three straight seasons of at least 69 games, he played in only 33 regular-season games last year.
In the postseason, he appeared in just five of Oklahoma City’s 15 games and averaged 21.4 minutes per contest. He was efficient when he was on the floor, but the Thunder never got the full version of him the way they have in the past.
That’s where McCain comes in.
He stepped into a heavy scoring role for OKC last season, firing away from deep and also finding ways to finish through traffic in the paint, even against Victor Wembanyama. The Thunder needed offense, and he delivered it.
At 22, McCain still has room to grow, and the sense is that he’s only beginning to tap into what he can become. But even now, he looks like a player who can carry real weight for this team.
That matters because Oklahoma City does not need to rush Williams back into everything at once. If the Thunder were counting on him to return immediately as a full-time, full-strength centerpiece, the pressure would be enormous. Instead, they have depth, and McCain’s scoring gives them another way to manage Williams’ return carefully.
The goal is obvious: get Williams healthy and back on the floor as much as possible. But with McCain in the mix, the Thunder have the kind of cushion that makes patience possible. That’s a pretty good problem to have.
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Even with Ball joining Anthony Edwards to give Minnesota a more dangerous offensive core, the challenge in the West still runs through Oklahoma Citys ability to take away what teams want most. The Thunder are also expected to get Cason Wallace more fully into the mix, which only adds another layer to a group that already knows how to grind down opponents and control the terms of a series. [Read more 🡒]