March 24, 2026, 2:00 p.m. CT
The NBA is often a cold and calculated business. It doesn’t take long to lose any wide-eyed optimism and turn cynical in the results-oriented business. But Jared McCain has refused to let shockingly getting traded to the reigning NBA champions bring him down.
The Oklahoma City Thunder flexed their full health with a 123-103 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. It was the first time they had their championship lineup this New Year’s.
In the game, McCain was promoted to a main character. The Sixers crowd cheered him on as he dropped 13 points off the bench. Afterward, a group of Philadelphia players went to chat it up with him. It’s been a wild six weeks. While he’s not fully over things yet, being moved to OKC could be the right move for his career.
One guy he was briefly teammates with was VJ Edgecombe. Ironically enough, his arrival likely made McCain expendable in the Sixers’ mind. They were blessed with some lottery luck last year as they landed the No. 3 pick of the 2025 NBA draft.
Edgecombe showed why the Sixers have a foundational piece with him. He scored 35 points on 14-of-28 shooting against the Thunder. Those are quite the numbers to put up as a 20-year-old rookie against the league-best defense.
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McCain spoke glowingly about Edgecombe. Even though the polarizing trade has caused Sixers fans to despise the cost-cutting move, you can at least say the franchise is in good hands, big-picture-wise, with Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey as a starting backcourt.
“Ever since he got drafted, ever since he visited Duke, he’s been such a great energy person,” McCain said. “Just great vibes. I have nothing but good things to say about VJ. He’s been helpful when I wasn’t playing, when just things weren’t going my way, when I was on the Sixers. I’m just very grateful for the relationship that we’ve built. That’s a brother for life, for sure.”
Must be a little bittersweet for Sixers fans to see how highly McCain thinks of Edgecombe. It’s a shame they never really had the chance to play together. But that’s how the NBA business goes sometimes. Things can happen fast.