The scene at the airport in Oklahoma City has become a tradition: Thunder fans standing behind a tall, gated fence await the chance to high-five players returning from a road trip. Sometimes this happens in the middle of the night.
Early the morning of April 11, a group of fans held signs and predictably cheered for their favorites — reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Luguentz Dort. But the noise seemed to peak for Jared McCain, who jumped up and down before slapping hands with fans.
McCain then stood atop a makeshift stage amid screams and chants of “OKC” loud enough to wake up the city. He raised his arms toward fans to hype them up and began to dance.
He snapped his head to the left, put his left foot forward, flexed his arms to his side, then brought his left foot back and swirled his hands in a circle. He repeated the motion alternating from right foot to left. Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Aaron Wiggins, Jaylin Williams and Isaiah Joe stood loudly laughing and filming the sequence.
This is Jared McCain doing what Jared McCain does for the social media empire he has been building since he first posted a TikTok video on Feb. 6, 2020. His dances often set trends on the app, turning low-key sounds into automatic hits. Crocs, Sally Hansen and DoorDash are among the companies that McCain has endorsed on his page. His first sponsorship video came in high school as prep students in California are eligible for NIL.
McCain, a guard for the top-seeded Thunder in the NBA playoffs, boasts more than 5 million followers on that social platform, which is more than both of his NBA teams so far (Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers) combined. He has amassed 223 million likes — and counting. He blends these two lives: one as a professional hooper who dropped 15 points hours earlier in a loss to the Nuggets, and the other as a TikTok creator with equal parts personality and dance moves.
For his Thunder teammates, that night at the airport marked a fun opportunity to create content. For McCain, it’s another example of the impact his platform has — turning him into a household name … with his fans including those who have never seen him splash a 3-pointer.
“I think it’s really cool that people come up to me and still don’t know I play basketball,” McCain told ESPN. “They only know me from TikTok. I think that’s really cool. The fact that I have two different platforms like that, two different ways of knowing me, I think it’s awesome.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 6.6 assists on the season, logged another one that early morning at the airport. Gilgeous-Alexander used McCain’s phone to record so McCain could post the dance video on his account later, with a remixed audio of Rihanna and Drake’s “Work.” The post garnered 5 million views in less than a week. Jaylin Williams shared his perspective on TikTok, captioning it: “show them that lil dance you be doin.” It instantly became one of Williams’ most viewed posts.
“I think it obviously plays into the influence you have for the younger generation. That’s all this is really about,” McCain said. “Being able to just influence positivity and being able to be yourself no matter what the situation is to the younger generation.”
Then a freshman at Centennial High School in Corona, California, McCain’s first post included him dancing alongside a teammate. He posted four more times until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. TikTok offered another activity during lockdown.
He mainly dances, something he told ESPN he always liked to do. However, he doesn’t have a dance background, saying he watched the Disney series “High School Musical.”
“It’s just from birth, man. It’s from birth,” McCain said of his dancing. “Shout out my Mom and Dad, man. They got rhythm. I feel like I got it from them and it just kind of takes practice. Usually some time and practice.”
As with most content creation, it took time to build a following. In May 2021, his videos routinely hit six figures. He did a duet with NFL wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, also known for showing off his moves.
The locker room at Centennial became part of TikTok lore. He returned there after being drafted by the 76ers in 2024, dancing in a video captioned: “[If you know you know] this locker room,” reaching more than 15 million views.
McCain pinpointed the Nike EYBL Peach Jam tournament in July 2021 as the moment he noticed the account growing. Flashing a wide smile, he posted popular dances after every game, prompting comments such as: “Bro makes this then drops 45” or “Aau star by day TikTok star by night.”
“That’s when it started to go back and forth,” McCain says. “And they started [to] realize I played basketball and that’s when I started to get [college] offers and it went at the same time.”
His star on and off the court rose in a parallel trajectory. The views increased as schools recruited him. McCain documented the growth.
An official visit to Louisville warranted a post to the TikTok audio “Ski x Surf,” a favorite of his. A month later, he danced during an official visit to the University of Houston. McCain would return home where he often shot videos with his teammates or mother.
When he committed to Duke in March of 2022, McCain shared his decision on TikTok, too, garnering more than 3 million views.
As he headed to college, a question arose about how he would balance his game on social media with playing basketball. Duke coach Jon Scheyer said before McCain’s freshman season that he had no concerns about TikTok impacting McCain’s play.
Scheyer was right. McCain averaged 14.3 points and five rebounds per game on a Duke team that reached the Elite Eight. In the aftermath of Duke’s Sweet 16 victory, the locker room included McCain and his teammates dancing for TikTok. One user commented: “imagine being Houston hearing this in the other locker room.”
The 76ers selected McCain at No. 15 in the first round of the 2024 draft — a day that also included four TikTok posts.
Less than two years later, McCain compared his balancing act of posting and playing basketball to that of any other professional athlete with a social media brand.
“We have a social media account and a lot of them do brand deals and stuff. And for me the TikTok posting is stuff that I’ve been doing for a long time,” he said. “So I kind of know how to balance it whether it’s timing of posting after losses like, not really posting then. Just having awareness of it.”
McCain’s first video following the draft was of him in a 76ers uniform with the caption: “First tiktok in a NBA JERSEYYY,” his second-most liked TikTok ever with just under 3 million. Commenters relished witnessing him grow up from baby-faced freshman to lottery pick.
A hot start as a rookie — 15.3 points per game in 23 games — amplified the star he’d built off the platform with fans following the journey in a unique way. His locker room videos continued, and teammates hopped in, including a memorable post with veteran guard Kyle Lowry that eclipsed 7 million likes. After suffering a season-ending injury, McCain’s post-surgery thoughts went on TikTok, sharing love and appreciation for the support.
Other NBA players took notice.
“Just being on social media, of course you see Jared. You see his TikToks all over,” Jaylin Williams told ESPN. “But I mean really at the time, I just saw him as a young kid doing TikToks.”
As McCain gained traction on the app, his posts often included comments from viewers like: “Imagine if Jared was on the Thunder.”
“Yeah I’ve seen those,” McCain said, smiling. “It’s pretty crazy how it’s a full circle moment.”
The 76ers dealt McCain to the Thunder on Feb. 2. Two days later, his first statement after the move came on TikTok. He shared a “tribute to Philly” by singing a snippet from Olivia Dean’s “A Couple Minutes.”
By McCain’s next post, he began his Oklahoma City era, wearing an “OKC” shirt and dancing in his hotel room with the caption: “I need a new home,” exceeding 2 million likes. McCain said it was all about showing his authentic emotions to “the TikTok community” in the midst of his first trade.
While his teammates in Philadelphia had firsthand experience with McCain’s TikTok stardom, those in Oklahoma City hadn’t yet.
Williams said he has seen McCain record only “a couple” videos while the two have become teammates. But on March 1, McCain shared one of him dancing to the chorus of Milky’s “Just The Way You Are” while Williams and teammate Isaiah Hartenstein stood in the back — almost like proud older brothers looking on.
“We had just arrived late into a city and we just randomly put it on and they wanted to be in it and so we just put it together,” McCain said. “So it’s one of those things just having fun, new teammates just being able to vibe with them.”
Before Williams could answer what it was like to record the video, McCain interjected with “generational opportunity,” before the center clarified.
“Nothing crazy,” he said. “Normal video.”
However, when informed by ESPN that it’s one of McCain’s most popular TikTok videos at just under 18 million views, Williams couldn’t believe what he heard. He let out an “OH,” before yelling across the locker room to ask Hartenstein if he knew, too. The center didn’t, and that’s where the chatter began.
“We should get a percentage,” Williams told McCain, nearby at his locker. “… We should get a thousand [dollars].”
Hartenstein and Williams then asked whether ESPN knew how much McCain made off the video, but the guard clarified that he’s not part of TikTok’s creator fund. The two centers came to the conclusion that McCain probably got another deal from it. In the midst of the negotiation, Williams discovered how many likes it received.
“A million point [nine] LIKES?” Williams exclaimed.
Eventually, the trio reached a deal — agents not involved — that would require a cut of McCain’s next TikTok endorsement video. They didn’t disclose terms, but they did shake hands.
McCain then resumed preparation to play against the LA Clippers that night, quickly shifting from one life to another. He recorded a follow-up video with Williams and Hartenstein a week later, with Hartenstein shying away from the camera this time. It garnered over 1 million likes in four days.
With TikTok gaining steam right before the pandemic, McCain is arguably at the forefront of a trend of athletes posting on the app. And he wouldn’t want it any other way.
“I just think over time it’s kind of been like that. Whether kids coming up to me saying that I inspire them to do certain things, but I’m just doing me,” he said. “Then whatever comes out of it [positively] is good.”
