(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
We live in a time when social media seems to be everything. Now, a TikTok star has been drafted into the NBA. But, don't worry. It's not like this is just any random TikTok star. This guy actually has the chops on the court, and you could say TikTok is his side gig.
Viral TikTok Star Drafted in the NBA
The 2024 NBA Draft wrapped up this week, and one guy that was on the big stage was former Duke basketball player Jared McCain. At Duke, he had such an impressive college career that he was expected to go in the first round of the NBA Draft, and he did. The Philadelphia 76ers picked McCain as their No. 16 pick. After getting chosen, he talked about his time at Duke, saying, "At Duke, it's a big platform in college." He added in a virtual press conference after being selected by Philadelphia, "Obviously that comes with a lot of hate and a lot of scrutiny wherever you go, but I think that’s prepared me for where I'm at, especially with Philly. So I think I'm ready for it."
McCain also happens to have nearly 3 million TikTok followers. He's had a large following for years, and so far, it hasn't gotten in the way of his basketball at all. So, if you're a 76ers fan, I wouldn't be worried about his TikTok stardom making him slack on the court. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Duke men's basketball coach Jon Scheyer said he was ready to have "the TikTok talk" with him, if McCain became distracted. But, that need never arose. "It was literally never a distraction," Scheyer said. "Once you're around him, you realize he's one of the few, maybe ever, to be able to handle both [basketball and social media] and still be all the way into everything that it takes to be a successful basketball player."
It's worth nothing that even though McCain is shorter than many in the NBA these days, that's never been an issue for him. "Starting with high school, I've always been smaller or just average-sized," McCain said during the virtual press conference after the NBA Draft. "Being 6-3 and labeled as small, it's always funny when I hear that... I'm just excited to continue to work on that and find ways to impact winning without being 6-9." If you want to check out McCain's TikTok page, this is the spot. He has just a few more followers than me. Just a few.
