Why Jared McCain has quickly become an OKC fan favorite: 'He's a very likable guy'

Catching Ajay Mitchell's outlet pass, Jared McCain quickly went to work. Every second counted as the halftime buzzer was about to sound. After dodging getting hit on the catch, he spun around to swish in the outside jumper just before the Thunder went into their break.

The Oklahoma City Thunder fell in a 116-110 preseason loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. But a fun first half made a blown 24-point lead forgettable. Both of OKC's prized prospects showed out and flat-out played the opposition's presumed Opening Night starters.

McCain finished with 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting, five assists and one rebound. He shot 4-of-8 from 3. He also had one steal.

It didn't take long for McCain to make his presence known. With all of OKC's top players out, he

salivated at being a top-scoring option. Even in a preseason environment. He nailed three outside jumpers in the opening frame. Putting up plenty of shot attempts, that's all the Thunder needed to see. He sat out the second half and had time to change his outfit.

The Tulsa crowd absolutely adored McCain. The loudest pops involved his outside jumpers. Of course, that's par for the course. At every single one of his basketball stops — from Duke to OKC — he's been an instant fan favorite. His SpongeBob-esque personality has won the fanbase over as it desperately hopes he can be a notable piece for them.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault was all smiles when asked about McCain's glass-half-full approach. Considering how cold and cynical the NBA business can get, his bubbly personality is a nice refresher that lightens the mood for everybody.

"I can't speak for the masses. I certainly can't speak for young fans. I'm 41. But he's so likable. That's what I can say," Daigneault said. "He's a very likable guy. What you see is what he is. He's like that all the time. He got a little bump or bruises in practice the other day. I asked him how he was doing. He's like, 'It's amazing.'"

You don't need much time to detect that McCain just walks around extremely confident about himself. In this instance, it took less than a basketball half. Enjoying a healthy offseason, he's set to have a big-time role as a bucket-getter off the bench. This was a step in the right direction towards that.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Why Jared McCain has quickly become an OKC fan favorite: 'He's a very likable guy'