Philadelphia 76ers rookie sensation Jared McCain was selected to be a media correspondent for the 2025 NBA Finals featuring the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers. The series, which is seeing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton battle it out to lead their respective squads to their first NBA Championship, is tied at 2-2 heading into Game 5 on Monday night.

The topic of conversation following Game 4 has been the officiating and how Gilgeous-Alexander gets to the free throw line. 76ers rookie Jared McCain had some thoughts.

76ers' Jared McCain responds to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being called “free throw merchant”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished Game 4 of the 2025 NBA Finals with a game-high 35 points on 12-of-24 from the field and a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line. A lot of non-Thunder fans, however, came out of that unhappy after seeing Gilgeous-Alexander attempt eight of his 10 free throws in the final five minutes.

In the fourth quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander shot 3-of-6 from the field, 1-of-3 from three, and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Pacers fans could be heard yelling, “free throw merchant,” throughout Gainbridge Fieldhouse and others took to social media to express their frustration at Gilgeous-Alexander's ability to push-off and draw fouls.

During the NBA Finals, ClutchPoints spoke with NBA Finals media correspondent Jared McCain to get his take on the discourse around the Thunder star and his ability to draw fouls.

“Yeah, I see both sides of it,” McCain told ClutchPoints. “But I think it's just smart play. A lot of them, they are fouls. He's just using his body against the defender and you're fouling. It's just a smart way to play, but I see both sides of it. How fans don't want to see, I guess, the slow pace of just getting to the finish line, but at the end of the day, he's just trying to win a game and he's trying to get as many buckets as possible. So I think it's smart and I'm trying to learn as much as I can.”

In just his 16th career game, 76ers rookie Jared McCain shot 12 free throws in a game. That's among the earliest in a player's career that they've shot double-digit free throws in a game, and much of it has to do with McCain's ability to play physical while knowing how to use his body to draw fouls.

Article Continues Below
More Philadelphia 76ers News
Philadelphia 76ers, Jared McCain, Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder, NBA FInals
Jared McCain’s honest reaction to Thunder-Pacers NBA FinalsTomer Azarly ·
Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey addresses the media with head coach Nick Nurse after the game against the Chicago Bulls at Wells Fargo Center.
76ers rumors: Daryl Morey’s trade talks bring mystery around NBAMalik Brown ·
image thumbnail
Kon Knueppel turns heads with shocking NBA draft testing resultsErik Slater ·
Philadelphia 76ers guard Kelly Oubre Jr (9) controls the ball against the Utah Jazz in the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Sochan
76ers’ perfect trade offer to get No. 2 pick from SpursZachary Howell ·
New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (2) against the LA Clippers on a free throw attempt during the first half at Smoothie King Center.
NBA rumors: Pelicans insider calls out ‘BS’ Herb Jones-to-76ers trade speculationJulian Ojeda ·
Philadelphia 76ers resident of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey speaks with the media before a game against the Detroit Pistons at Wells Fargo Center.
NBA rumors: 76ers engage Spurs on trade for No. 2 pickJason Patt ·

For McCain, the Sixers guard is trying to pick up any tips and tricks he can from the Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and even New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, who is also highly scrutinized for his foul-drawing tactics.

“Yeah I think for me, it's especially like I use my shot as a way to get to the rim and to get fouled,” Jared mcCain continued to ClutchPoints. “Obviously being physical and using that physicality against them. That helps you get to the line as well, but obviously watching players like Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], like Jalen Brunson, who gets to the line a lot, I'm trying to learn as much as I can, but it's pretty cool to see it happen in my first few games.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored all 15 points of his fourth quarter points in the final in the final five minutes of Game 4, the most points scored in the final five minutes of regulation of an NBA Finals game since 1971.

Monday night's Game 5 between the Thunder and Pacers will see one team take a 3-2 series lead heading back to Indianapolis for Game 6. Will the Thunder be able to take the series lead heading on the road, or will the Pacers have a chance to close out the series at home and win an NBA Championship in front of their home-crowd?

Game 5 is set to tip off at 8:30PM EST on ABC.