WCF Game – Jared McCain, traded by the Philadelphia 76ers at the 2026 NBA Trade Deadline, delivered 20 points and three rebounds in his first career postseason start as the Oklahoma City Thunder took on the Spurs. Thunder coach Mark Daigenault backed the decision to star
When the postseason clock started counting down and Oklahoma City rolled out Jared McCain in a starting role for the first time in his career, it felt like a quiet answer to a very loud trade-market argument.
The 76ers sent McCain away during the 2026 NBA Trade Deadline and fans criticized the move almost immediately after it was announced. McCain had been one of Philadelphia’s standout rookies the season before, until a meniscus tear early in the year cut his campaign short.
At the time, Daryl Morey framed the trade as a win for the timing. He said he had “sold high” on McCain. arguing the guard’s value would stay high only because the deal was made before the impact of the injury showed up. “I am quite confident we were selling high,” Morey said. “Obviously, time will tell.”.
WCF Game 5 offered a kind of scoreboard-based response to that belief. With the Oklahoma City Thunder, McCain remained a meaningful piece of the team’s push for a championship. In his first career postseason start, he produced 20 points and three rebounds. His performance mattered early in the third quarter. when he was crucial to an extended run that kept the Spurs firmly at bay.
Thunder coach Mark Daigenault explained why McCain was in the starting lineup. pointing to the moment and the lineup needs created by players being out. “We just thought he could give us some good stuff with that unit. Just based on where we are right now with a couple of guys out. And he did,” Daigenault said. “He was really good. His pop early was excellent, and he kept himself in the game. He had that flurry in the third.”.
For the 76ers, the timing of all this stings more because Philadelphia has already shown it can navigate the postseason—at least to a point. The team pulled off a 3-1 comeback against the Boston Celtics in the first round. But the run ended with a sweep at the hands of the New York Knicks.
That combination—Philadelphia’s injury-shortened window for McCain and their postseason outcomes after his departure—makes it hard for anyone to ignore the question hanging in the background: what might have changed if McCain had stayed.
In Game 5, the answer wasn’t delivered in words from Philadelphia. It was delivered on the floor by the player Morey once said the 76ers were selling high on—at least, for this postseason moment, there wasn’t evidence that his production was supposed to disappear.
Jared McCain Philadelphia 76ers Daryl Morey Oklahoma City Thunder Mark Daigenault WCF Game 5 Spurs 2026 NBA Trade Deadline meniscus tear postseason