Jared McCain returned to Philadelphia on Monday night for the first time since the 76ers traded him to the Thunder in February.
Since McCain has played well for Oklahoma City so far, there has been a vocal contingent second-guessing the 76ers' decision to trade him as he's fit right in with the defending champions.
It didn't take long for McCain to reignite the debate at Xfinity Mobile Arena. He checked into the game midway through the first quarter and almost immediately nailed three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. The reaction of Tyrese Maxey pretty much said it all as he made a face and slumped down in his seat on the bench.
JARED MACCAIN HITS BACK TO BACK 3PM IN HIS RETURN TO PHILLY —
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 23, 2026
Tyrese Maxey’s reaction says it all. 🤣🔥
pic.twitter.com/l5Pte4F8BM
People immediately assumed McCain was about to have revenge game and again pointed and laughed at the Sixers for the trade, but this 39-second video turned out to be the entirety of McCain's offensive output in the first half as he missed the other four shots he attempted.
He ended finishing with 13 points and two assists as the Thunder won a game that was never close, 123–103, but it wasn't totally because of McCain's game-best plus-19 rating.
Was trading Jared McCain really that big of a mistake?
The Thunder immediately fit McCain into the rotation after the trade, as his arrival coincided with MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missing three weeks within an abdominal strain. SGA returned at the end of February, but McCain has remained in the rotation. Heading into Monday's game against the 76ers, McCain had played at least 28 minutes in the previous two games and scored a season-high 26 points last week against the Nets.
Overall though, his numbers aren't really that great. The Sixers took him with the No. 16 pick in the '24 NBA draft, but he only played 23 games as a rookie and appeared in just 37 games for Philadelphia this season before the trade. He was averaging 6.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game for the 76ers in 16.8 minutes per game.
The Thunder are only playing him 19.3 minutes per game, but in those extra 2.5 minutes he's shooting the ball three more times and scoring 12.3 points per game. He's also using picks like the ones by Jaylin Williams in that highlight above to shoot 44% from three as opposed to 38% in Philly.
This is a laughably better situation for McCain. This Thunder team started the season 24-1, which had some poor fools wondering if they'd break the Warriors' record of 73 wins. Instead, OKC is only going to win 60-something games. And while that may be boring for some, it's certainly not for McCain. He's playing solid minutes for one of the most offensively efficient teams in the NBA instead of one in the middle of the pack like the Sixers.
That's not to say the 76ers couldn't use McCain—especially with Maxey, Embiid and Paul George out for various reasons. But it also feels like a lot of players would be better off playing for the Thunder, rather than being in a similar role for most other teams.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why the 76ers' Jared McCain Trade Isn't As Bad As It Looks.
