New Philadelphia 76ers rookie Jared McCain was supposed to be one of the top picks in the 2024 NBA draft. He had a terrific season at Duke where he shot 41.4% from deep on 5.8 attempts per game and was able to establish himself as a legitimate NBA prospect.
The Sixers, who held the No. 16 pick in the draft in Wednesday’s Round 1, were surprised to see McCain fall into their lap with the selection. As he and Philadelphia now move forward, the rookie will look to use the slide as motivation for the future.
“I think any good player uses that as motivation,” said McCain. “You obviously want to go as high as possible. You remember who goes before you and you obviously remember that each time you play everybody. I’m just honored to be here.”
Despite standing at just 6-foot-3, McCain is a solid rebounder from the perimeter. He averaged 5.0 rebounds per game at Duke with 0.8 coming on the offensive end of the floor. He has the athleticism and the toughness to make it work and he will look to carry that rebounding ability over to the NBA.
“I definitely take pride in rebounding,” McCain added. “It’s something I focused on, especially toward the end of the year — just something that I feel is another way to impact winning. A lot of our wins and losses were won and lost on the rebounding battle. So wherever I go, I try to do something else that’s going to impact winning other than scoring, because your shot’s not going to be on every night. So if I can grab as many boards as possible, I think that helps.”
If McCain continues to bring that toughness and the right attitude to Philadelphia, then he and the Sixers will be in a great position to succeed.
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