Former Duke basketball star [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag] fulfilled a dream on Wednesday night when the Philadelphia 76ers took him with the 16th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft.
McCain, who attended the draft in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, strode across the stage and got to shake NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s hand at the podium with a team hat atop his head.
As a freshman with the Blue Devils last season, McCain put together three 30-point games en route to averaging 14.3 points per game. Despite being 6-foot-3, he also averaged 5.0 rebounds per game and pulled down at least 10 rebounds in six different games.
After a rough start to his debut season in Durham, averaging 7.6 points per game through his first eight appearances, scouts raved over the improvement McCain showed by the end of the season. He averaged 16.2 points per game across the last 28 games, including two 30-point games in the NCAA Tournament as the Blue Devils reached the Elite Eight.
Jared ➡️ Sixers‼️
Elite pick by GM Elton Brand #DukeintheNBA 😈 pic.twitter.com/Zqah8ekVeN
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) June 27, 2024
McCain now gets to play alongside 7-foot star Joel Embiid, who won the NBA MVP award in 2022-23 before dealing with injuries last season. The Sixers also have Tyrese Maxey, a former Kentucky star who won the Most Improved Player award last season.
McCain now helps Philadelphia in a quest to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in the Embiid era.