OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — The 2025 NBA Finals have returned to Oklahoma City where the Thunder will host Game 5 against the Indiana Pacers. NBA Finals Correspondent Jared McCain of the Philadelphia 76ers has followed both teams closely through the year and can't wait to see what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton have in store for their teams.

With the series tied at 2-2, the winner of Monday night's game will be just one win away from the franchise's first NBA Championship.

76ers' Jared McCain reacts to Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals

During the NBA Finals, the league calls up a few of the younger players to act as media correspondents for the championship round. The players attend a practice media availability as well as a Finals game, where they'll take turns asking players from Finals teams questions they're interested in knowing the answers to.

Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals started with Philadelphia 76ers rookie Jared McCain, who had a spectacular start to his rookie campaign before suffering a season-ending injury.

McCain, who has been closely following the NBA postseason, spoke with ClutchPoints during the NBA Finals and gave his thoughts on each of the teams he's covering as a Correspondent.

“I'm so excited I've never I've never even been to a playoff game before in my life so this would be very exciting to see the epitome of basketball,” McCain told ClutchPoints. “The NBA invited me to this and it's been a cool experience getting to know everything behind the scenes of being a media person at this event but it was cool to see it all come together.”

The Oklahoma City Thunder are two wins away from an NBA Championship while boasting the league's 2024-25 regular season MVP after a historic 68-win season.

“Yeah, they're pretty insane,” McCain said of the Oklahoma City Thunder. “Obviously they've got the MVP in [Shai Gilgeous-Alexande]. I think it'd be really cool to see an MVP win the NBA Finals. I think it's only like three other players that did it. Like it was Shaq and someone else. But yeah OKC, they're a tough team they got elite depth. Both teams got good depth so we'll see what happens.”

Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers have stunned nearly the entire world by making a run to the 2025 NBA Finals. They are also just two wins away from the franchise's first NBA Championship after winning Games 1 and 3 of this series.

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“Indiana has the fast pace,” McCain added. “I just saw today it was like organized chaos. Haliburton's leadership, he's very elite at it and we'll see what happens of course, but I think it'll be a good one… I never truly count out Halliburton.”

There were clips on social media of Jared McCain reacting to Tyrese Haliburton‘s game-tying shot against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals as well as his reaction to Haliburton‘s game-winner against the Thunder in Game 1.

Jared McCain is much like NBA fans than people realize, spending a lot of his time watching and reacting to games just like everybody else.

“Of course, of course! Even during the season, you watch games, you're still watching it just like everybody else. You're on screen, watching it on TV, watching it on your phone. Everybody, even players on the team, like you're always watching it sometimes together on the plane. It's cool to just still be a fan and also be a part of the league.”

Jared McCain had a strong rookie campaign for the 76ers, averaging 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 46 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from three. The 76ers rookie suffered a torn meniscus and the team officially ruled him out for the season on January 9th.

The 2025 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers will continue on Monday night for Game 5. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30PM EST on ABC, with the winner taking a 3-2 series lead and just one win away from a championship.