Any team led by reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should be pegged as a legitimate threat to win an NBA Championship. However, accompany him with a loaded collection of complementary talents like the OKC Thunder has, and it's only logical to view this club as the favorites to win it all here in 2025-26.
From All-Stars like Chet Holmgren to low-usage yet still high-impact veterans like Kenrich Williams, Oklahoma City is truly flush with talents who can have a positive effect on any game at a moment's notice.
However, among their enviable collection of secondary ballers, Jared McCain seems to take the cake as the team's unsung hero.
That is, at least, according to ESPN's crop of in-the-know insiders, who recently labeled the sophomore as OKC's "unheralded player" making a difference in ways that perhaps have gone unnoticed through this point.
Thunder aced Jared McCain deal while other contenders 'didn't do much'
The goal for Philadelphia 76ers executive Daryl Morey was to sell high on the likes of their 2024 first-round pick at this year's trade deadline. Sadly for them, it appears their partner in the swap, the Thunder, instead pulled off the heist of the season.
ESPN's insiders clearly support this sentiment.
Not only did Oklahoma City land last year's frontrunner for Rookie of the Year before a UCL tear shut him down last season, but they did so while coughing up just a few, lower-level draft assets (that is, at least, to them) in exchange for his services.
The results have been truly remarkable.
Since debuting with the Thunder back on February 7, McCain has served as a true difference-maker off the pine, posting highly efficient averages of 11.9 points on 47.5 percent shooting from the floor and 44.4 percent shooting from deep.
To put this into perspective, prior to joining on with OKC, McCain was posting just 6.6 points per game on 38.5 percent shooting from the field and saw just one single game this season where he dropped 20 or more points.
Following Wednesday's commanding blowout win over the Nets out in Brooklyn, he's had four in 18 outings donning the blue, orange, and yellow threads.
Clearly, this migration to the Sooner State has done wonders for McCain. Whether it's a result of a better-fitting offensive philosophy or simply just a much-needed change of scenery, the Thunder now have yet another youngster with "a growing track record as a microwave scorer" within their arsenal as they look to become the first repeat champion since the 2018 Warriors.