How OKC Thunder’s Jared McCain balances TikTok fame, NBA play
The scene on the airport in Oklahoma City has turn out to be a practice: Thunder followers standing behind a tall, gated fence await the possibility to high-five gamers coming back from a street journey. Sometimes this occurs in the course of the night time.
Early the morning of April 11, a gaggle of followers held indicators and predictably cheered for his or her favorites — reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Luguentz Dort. But the noise appeared to peak for Jared McCainwho jumped up and down earlier than slapping arms with followers.
McCain then stood atop a makeshift stage amid screams and chants of “OKC” loud sufficient to get up town. He raised his arms towards followers to hype them up and commenced to bounce.
He snapped his head to the left, put his left foot ahead, flexed his arms to his aspect, then introduced his left foot again and swirled his arms in a circle. I have repeated the motion alternating from proper foot to left. Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Aaron Wiggins, Jaylin Williams and Isaiah Joe loudly stood laughing and filming the sequence.
This is Jared McCain doing what Jared McCain does for the social media empire he has been constructing since he first posted a TikTok video on Feb. 6, 2020. His dances usually set tendencies on the app, turning low-key sounds into automated hits. Crocs, Sally Hansen and DoorDash are among the many corporations that McCain has endorsed on his web page. His first sponsorship video got here in highschool as prep college students in California are eligible for NIL.
McCain, a guard for the top-seeded Thunder within the NBA playoffs, boasts greater than 5 million followers on that social platform, which is greater than each of his NBA groups to date (Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers) mixed. He has amassed 223 million likes — and counting. He blends these two lives: one as an expert hooper who dropped 15 factors hours earlier in a loss to the Nuggets, and the opposite as a TikTok creator with equal elements character and dance strikes.
For his Thunder teammates, that night time on the airport marked a enjoyable alternative to create content material. For McCain, it is one other instance of the impression his platform has — turning him right into a family identify… together with his followers together with those that have by no means seen him splash a 3-pointer.
“I think it’s really cool that people come up to me and still don’t know I play basketball,” McCain informed ESPN. “They only know me from TikTok. I think that’s really cool. The fact that I have two different platforms like that, two different ways of knowing me, I think it’s awesome.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 6.6 assists on the season, logged one other one which early morning on the airport. Gilgeous-Alexander used McCain’s cellphone to file so McCain might publish the dance video on his account later, with a remixed audio of Rihanna and Drake’s “Work.” The publish garnered 5 million views in lower than per week. Jaylin Williams shared his perspective on TikTok, captioning it: “show them that lil dance you be doin.” It immediately grew to become one in every of Williams’ most considered posts.
“I think it obviously plays into the influence you have for the younger generation. That’s all this is really about,” McCain mentioned. “Being able to just influence positivity and being able to be yourself no matter what the situation is to the younger generation.”
Then a freshman at Centennial High School in Corona, California, McCain’s first publish included him dancing alongside a teammate. I’ve posted 4 extra instances till the COVID-19 pandemic hit. TikTok provided one other exercise throughout lockdown.
He primarily dances, one thing he informed ESPN he at all times preferred to do. However, he does not have a dance background, saying he watched the Disney collection “High School Musical.”
“It’s just from birth, man. It’s from birth,” McCain mentioned of his dancing. “Shout out my Mom and Dad, man. They got rhythm. I feel like I got it from them and it just kind of takes practice. Usually some time and practice.”
As with most content material creation, it took time to construct a following. In May 2021, his movies routinely hit six figures. I’ve did a duet with NFL extensive receiver JuJu Smith-Schusteradditionally identified for exhibiting off his strikes.
The locker room at Centennial grew to become a part of TikTok lore. He returned there after being drafted by the 76ers in 2024, dancing in a video captioned: “[If you know you know] this locker room,” reaching greater than 15 million views.
McCain pinpointed the Nike EYBL Peach Jam match in July 2021 because the second he seen the account rising. Flashing a large smile, he posted common dances after each recreation, prompting feedback akin to: “Bro makes this then drops 45” or “Aau star by day TikTok star by night.”
“That’s when it started to go back and forth,” McCain says. “And they started [to] realize I played basketball and that’s when I started to get [college] offers and it went at the same time.”
His star on and off the court docket rose in a parallel trajectory. The views elevated as faculties recruited him. McCain documented the expansion.
An official go to to Louisville warranted a post to the TikTok audio “Ski x Surf,” a favourite of his. A month later, I danced throughout an official go to to the University of Houston. McCain would return house the place he usually shot movies together with his teammates or mom.
When I dedicated to duke In March of 2022, McCain shared his resolution on TikTok, too, garnering greater than 3 million views.
As he headed to varsity, a query arose about how he would stability his recreation on social media with taking part in basketball. Duke coach Jon Scheyer said Before McCain’s freshman season he had no issues about TikTok impacting McCain’s play.
Scheyer was proper. McCain averaged 14.3 factors and 5 rebounds per recreation on a Duke staff that reached the Elite Eight. In the aftermath of Duke’s Sweet 16 victory, the locker room included McCain and his teammates dancing for TikTok. One person commented: “imagine being Houston hearing this in the other locker room.”
The 76ers chosen McCain at No. 15 within the first spherical of the 2024 draft — a day that additionally included 4 TikTok posts.
Less than two years later, McCain in contrast his balancing act of posting and taking part in basketball to that of some other skilled athlete with a social media model.
“We have a social media account and a lot of them do brand deals and stuff. And for me the TikTok posting is stuff that I’ve been doing for a long time,” he mentioned. “So I kind of know how to balance it whether it’s timing of posting after losses like, not really posting then. Just having awareness of it.”
McCain’s first video following the draft was of him in a 76ers uniform with the caption: “First tiktok in an NBA JERSEYYY,” his second-most preferred TikTok ever with slightly below 3 million. Commenters relished witnessing him develop up from baby-faced freshman to lottery decide.
A scorching begin as a rookie — 15.3 factors per recreation in 23 video games — amplified the star he’d constructed off the platform with followers following the journey in a novel means. His locker room movies continued, and teammates hopped in, together with a memorable publish with veteran guard Kyle Lowry that eclipsed 7 million likes. After struggling a season-ending harm, McCain’s post-surgery ideas went on TikTok, sharing love and appreciation for the assist.
Other NBA gamers took discover.
“Just being on social media, of course you see Jared. You see his TikToks all over,” Jaylin Williams informed ESPN. “But I mean really at the time, I just saw him as a young kid doing TikToks.”
As McCain gained traction on the app, his posts usually included feedback from viewers like: “Imagine if Jared was on the Thunder.”
“Yeah I’ve seen those,” McCain mentioned, smiling. “It’s pretty crazy how it’s a full circle moment.”
The 76ers dealt McCain to the Thunder on Feb. 2. Two days later, his first assertion after the transfer got here on TikTok. I’ve shared a “tribute to Philly” by singing a snippet from Olivia Dean’s “A Couple Minutes.”
By McCain’s subsequent publish, he started his Oklahoma City period, carrying an “OKC” shirt and dancing in his hotel room with the caption: “I need a new home,” exceeding 2 million likes. McCain mentioned it was all about exhibiting his genuine feelings to “the TikTok community” within the midst of his first commerce.
While his teammates in Philadelphia had firsthand expertise with McCain’s TikTok stardom, these in Oklahoma City hadn’t but.
Williams mentioned he has seen McCain file solely “a couple” movies whereas the 2 have turn out to be teammates. But on March 1, McCain shared one of him dancing to the refrain of Milky’s “Just The Way You Are” whereas Williams and teammate Isaiah Hartenstein stood within the again — nearly like proud older brothers trying on.
“We had just arrived late into a city and we just randomly put it on and they wanted to be in it and so we just put it together,” McCain mentioned. “So it’s one of those things just having fun, new teammates just being able to vibe with them.”
Before Williams might reply what it was prefer to file the video, McCain interjected with “generational opportunity,” earlier than the middle clarified.
“Nothing crazy,” he mentioned. “Normal video.”
However, when knowledgeable by ESPN that it is one in every of McCain’s hottest TikTok movies at slightly below 18 million views, Williams could not consider what he heard. He let loose an “OH,” earlier than yelling throughout the locker room to ask Hartenstein if he knew, too. The heart did not, and that is the place the chatter started.
“We should get a percentage,” Williams informed McCain, close by at his locker. “…We should get a thousand [dollars]”
Hartenstein and Williams then requested whether or not ESPN knew how a lot McCain made off the video, however the guard clarified that he isn’t a part of TikTok’s creator fund. The two facilities got here to the conclusion that McCain most likely bought one other deal from it. In the midst of the negotiation, Williams found what number of likes he acquired.
“A million point [nine] LIKES?” Williams exclaimed.
Eventually, the trio reached a deal — brokers not concerned — that may require a minimize of McCain’s subsequent TikTok endorsement video. They did not disclose phrases, however they did shake arms.
McCain then summarized preparation to play towards the LA Clippers that night time, rapidly shifting from one life to a different. He recorded a follow-up video with Williams and Hartenstein per week later, with Hartenstein shying away from the digicam this time. It garnered over 1 million likes in 4 days.
With TikTok gaining steam proper earlier than the pandemic, McCain is arguably on the forefront of a development of athletes posting on the app. And he would not need it some other means.
“I just think over time it’s kind of been like that. Whether kids coming up to me saying that I inspire them to do certain things, but I’m just doing me,” he mentioned. “Then whatever comes out of it [positively] “it is good.”
