
The NBA called in a social media expert to help them cover the Finals.
Well, that’s one way to get a Sixer back to the NBA Finals.
With the series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers set to get underway shortly, the league has announced player correspondents who will be on the ground for media access for each game of the Finals. This is part of a program around the Finals, All-Star Weekend, and Draft to give players more media experience.
Philadelphia’s rookie Jared McCain has been selected for Game 1.
Introducing the NBA Player Correspondents for the #NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV ️
Jared McCain (Game 1), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Game 2), Dyson Daniels (Game 3), and Matas Buzelis (Game 4) will be on the ground giving inside access from Oklahoma City and Indiana, beginning… pic.twitter.com/caDpRWj6iK
— NBA (@NBA) June 3, 2025
McCain wasted no time to get his boots on the ground, getting himself into several scrums to ask some really insightful questions. Here he is at Finals Media Day asking the newly named MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander about his mental preparation, a question McCain himself has gotten a lot already in his young career.
SGA answered a question from Jared McCain as if he was a reporter lol pic.twitter.com/IddfQsuQzY
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) June 4, 2025
His coverage was thorough and extensive. Here he is getting a well-thought out answer from Tyrese Haliburton about the balances of attacking and distributing as a point guard.
“Not like I’m a vet or OG or anything, I’m in year 5.” @TyHaliburton22 tells @J_mccain_24 how he approaches being a point guard pic.twitter.com/ZZbJSt9lHq
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 4, 2025
Seeing him ask these questions in scrums is cool for a couple of reasons. The first is that he seems genuinely interested in doing a good job as a reporter. That’s not a shock given his media expertise, the local NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast also had him on during a game this year.
The second reason is he is really interested in learning from these accomplished players. Getting the most out of his time around established veterans was something he talked about often during his rookie season.
McCain made sure to cover the entire day, not just the pressers for the big stars.
Jared McCain asking James Johnson questions at NBA Finals media day is some sort of basketball Mad Lib. pic.twitter.com/KOtHIYFMge
— Tony East (@TonyREast) June 4, 2025
Of course the NBA had to have the TikTok guru get in on a social media trend for them as well. As a part of the “Calling to Say Goodnight” trend, McCain called his best frenemy Kyle Lowry to wish him a good morning and it went about as expected. Not only did Lowry appear to be unaware of the trend, but the call interrupted his golf outing.
The “Calling To Say Goodnight” trend…
Except it’s calling to say good morning from the NBA Finals with our player correspondent for the day, Jared McCain! pic.twitter.com/v9AZN96DV2
— NBA (@NBA) June 4, 2025
For everything else going on with the Sixers, at least they have one guy who can generate smiles consistently.