Jared McCain sings, dances and builds entire social-media moments around music, but he is not ready to turn any of it into a recording career.
TMZ Sports recently caught the Oklahoma City Thunder guard at LAX and asked whether he had considered releasing original music. “I probably wouldn’t at the moment, no. I’m too focused on basketball right now,” McCain said in the TMZ Sports interview.
He did not completely close the door. “You never know in the future. Maybe one day,” McCain added, leaving music as a possibility rather than an immediate plan.
McCain has spent years singing and dancing online, and his TikTok audience has grown to more than 5.5 million followers, giving him a public profile that extends well beyond people who know him primarily as an NBA player.
McCain Is Leaving Original Music for Another Day
For now, McCain said there is no album, single or other original-music project taking priority over basketball. The 22-year-old is preparing for his first full season with Oklahoma City after arriving in a February trade, and he made clear that his NBA career comes first.
Singing and dancing are regular parts of his social-media presence, but he has not previously presented those posts as the launch of a separate professional recording career.
Singing and TikTok Have Been Part of His Public Persona for Years
@jaredmccainA Philly tribute♬ original sound – Jared McCain
McCain began posting dance videos on TikTok in 2020, years before he reached the NBA. By this September, TMZ reported that his account had grown to more than 5.5 million followers.
That audience sometimes knows him from social media before basketball. In an April ESPN profile, McCain said he had encountered people who recognized him from TikTok without realizing he played professionally.
He has also used singing to mark major moments in his basketball career. After Philadelphia traded him to Oklahoma City in February, McCain posted a farewell to Sixers fans in which he sang part of Olivia Dean’s “A Couple Minutes.”
ESPN reported that the video arrived days after the trade and served as McCain’s musical goodbye to Philadelphia. His social posts soon shifted to Oklahoma City, where dancing and music-heavy clips continued alongside his new teammates.
His First Full Season in Oklahoma City Comes First
The Thunder acquired McCain from Philadelphia on Feb. 4 in exchange for a 2026 first-round pick and three second-round picks. The former Duke guard had been selected No. 16 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft.
McCain appeared in 30 regular-season games for Oklahoma City after the trade, including two starts. Thunder game notes list him at 10.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting 39.1% from three-point range in 18 minutes per game.
He also became part of Oklahoma City’s playoff rotation. McCain scored a playoff career-high 24 points during the Western Conference finals against San Antonio and later started multiple games in the series.