Despite being down two of their top four scorers, the OKC Thunder find themselves one win away from reaching the NBA Finals for the second straight year.
As much as superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and others have played an integral part, the argument can be made that they wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for perimeter threat Jared McCain.
The midseason trade acquisition has had his fingerprints all over this playoff run and has picked up the offensive slack in a massive way in the Western Conference Finals.
Coach Mark Daigneault even took time out of his presser after Tuesday's Game 5 win to praise McCain's willingness to do whatever has been asked of him.
"I think the first thing he did, which was, you know, really impressive on his part, is he came and really wanted to plug into the team in a way that was very respectful of our collective team that's been together and has had shared success... I think the guys saw that and respected it... He's had a pretty variant role, and, the whole time, has stayed totally inside the team," Daigneault said.
According to the former Coach of the Year, McCain has added to the team's makeup without taking away from their prior accomplishments.
As a result of his team-first approach, he has gone from a non-factor to an essential piece from the first round of the postseason to the present. He is averaging 25.6 minutes per game against the San Antonio Spurs and has registered two 20-plus point performances in the series.
His stellar play may also be serving to heal some internal wounds left by the club's last midseason acquisition made just two seasons ago.
Jared McCain is righting previous Thunder wrongs
In 2024-25, general manager Sam Presti made another splash at the deadline, trading for forward Gordon Hayward in hopes of shoring up what was looking like a championship roster.
Instead, the veteran played just 46 total postseason minutes before the Thunder were knocked out by Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Even more embarrassing, he failed to register a single point.
Later, word got around that Hayward wasn't happy about his role in Bricktown, and Presti openly admitted he "missed" the mark with the transaction, as friction in the locker room is never an effective recipe for success.
Thankfully, McCain seems to have bucked that trend and fully bought into the OKC culture.
Thanks to his efforts, the Thunder have stayed afloat despite the absences of both Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell. His timely shot-making and unwavering confidence with the basketball have earned him an ever-growing role in the Thunder rotation.
As his own coach just put it, he has "earned it."
Oklahoma City will likely need another stellar shooting night from the sophomore as they head to San Antonio to try and close out a desperate Spurs team.
In what's been an entertaining series, McCain's ability to knock down shots will most likely play an integral part in its conclusion.
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