CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers decided to make a selection in the 2024 NBA draft in Round 1 on Wednesday. They turned to young Jared McCain out of Duke with the No. 16 overall pick.
After shooting 41.4% from deep as a freshman in the ACC, McCain will now look to take his talents to the Sixers and help them take steps forward. There is a lot to like about his game and his fit with this current group.
As he moves forward into his rookie season, McCain has a few goals he wants to lay out and achieve as he moves into a backcourt with Tyrese Maxey.
“For me, in college obviously, I played more of an off-ball role,” McCain started. “So I think, obviously, being able to learn from Tyrese on-ball stuff and being able to show that I can be on the ball, make reads on pick-and-rolls, and then show defensively that I’m willing to be that defender.”
McCain is not the most physically gifted player. He gets by on his work ethic and his basketball IQ which will help him in the long run. That is going to help him develop at a faster rate.
“Obviously, learning the team rotations, learning the team I think the mind is something a lot of people will undervalue in this draft just being able to figure out stuff,” McCain added. “The IQ. I think I’m good at that so I’m gonna try and show that as much as I can my rookie season.”
Everybody knows what McCain can bring to the table on the offensive end of the floor. It’s on the other end where there are question marks about his game. However, if his IQ and work ethic are any indication, he will be able to figure it out.
“When I was in college, I used to ask my trainer a lot who I should watch on defense and he sent me a lot of Fred VanVleet highlights,” McCain laughed. “Just being sneaky, try to get steals, try to get deflections, and obviously, be a good on-ball defender so I think Fred is a good one to look at.”
McCain will get his first opportunity to show what he can do in the upcoming summer leagues.
[lawrence-related id=95925,95919,95922]