Jared McCain reveals the NBA player who inspired him to paint his nails and discusses TikTok backlash

Jared McCain landed with the 76ers at No. 16 in the 2024 NBA draft because of his elite shooting and playmaking, but his social media profile also caught the attention of teams and fans.

A McDonald’s All-American and TikTok star, McCain spoke with new teammate Paul George about his two passions on Podcast P with Paul George. The conversation with George and his cohosts, Jackie Long and Dallas Rutherford, led with one of the hallmarks of McCain’s presence on social media as they talked to the Sixers guard about his decision to paint his nails, and its original inspiration.

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McCain revealed that a fellow NBA player made him want to take the leap, and that his parents weren’t immediately on board.

“It started in COVID. That’s when I first started,” McCain said. “Jordan Clarkson was the first person I see get their nails like a different color and then I just started doing it. I played well with them on and I was like, let me just keep it going. I did it myself.

“The first color I did was lavender, came downstairs, mom and dad look at me a little crazy — wasn’t the best reaction. My parents are a little old, so definitely don’t rock with that, but they support it now. [My dad] definitely had some questions, but he got used to it.”

While he didn’t expect a personal decision to receive so much backlash, McCain understands the source of that criticism.

“At first it was tough. I was like, I’m trying to spread positivity and then people are hating saying everything to me at games. It was crazy, but at a certain point I’m just like, it’s either insecure about themselves or just projecting. … But when they trying to overshadow my hard work in basketball just by saying I’m just the TikTok and the nails, that’s when I hate it. But it’s something you got to live with.”

McCain also recognized the complications that can come with being a basketball player and social media darling — and spoke about how that started. He’s encountered questions from NBA teams wondering how seriously he takes basketball, and received disses from players and fans about his presence on TikTok.

“I get called TikToker more than basketball player by far, especially in college, people would be outside of Cameron Indoor [Stadium],” McCain said. “Just fans will just wait outside, but it was all people just there for my TikToks … they’re all just supporting me. I built that platform, so it’s cool that they even watch my TikToks, but sometimes I’m like, ‘Damn, am I good at basketball? Do y’all even know I play basketball?’”

You can watch the full episode of Podcast P with McCain here.