Now that we're in the final weeks of the NBA offseason, Jared McCain is putting in some last-minute work before the Oklahoma City Thunder start their training camp at the end of the month. Alongside Cooper Flagg , the two alumni went to Duke to participate in a scrimmage.
McCain has had a pretty busy week. He spent the start of it with several Thunder players at TCU. In a player-run boot camp, they worked out together then did some team-bonding exercises — such as bowling and playing outdoor football together.
Now, McCain has returned to Duke. He spent one collegiate season there in the 2023-24 regular season. That was enough to be the No. 16 pick of the 2024 NBA draft. After a forgettable one-and-a-half seasons on the Philadelphia 76ers , he was traded to the Thunder at the 2026 NBA trade deadline.
Projecting out, McCain has a chance to take a sizable leap. The Thunder will lean on him even more. They had a summer filled with cost-cutting moves. Let's see how the 22-year-old looks now that he's comfortable in OKC and will get chances to be a go-to scorer off the bench.
Even though their time didn't intersect, Flagg also had a memorable season at Duke. He played there in the 2024-25 regular season. It didn't take much for him to live up to the hype. The Dallas Mavericks took him with the No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA draft. Since then, he's set all types of NBA and franchise rookie records this past year.
Cool to see Flagg and McCain spend time with current Duke players. Learning from two NBA players is one of the best ways to prepare for the Blue Devils' upcoming 2026-27 season. Like usual, they're expected to be one of the top teams in the nation and compete for a national championship.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Watch: Jared McCain, Cooper Flagg return to Duke for offseason scrimmage
