It was one preseason game against a non-NBA team, but rookie Jared McCain showed flashes of the player he can be for the Sixers.
At the start of the second quarter Monday night, Jared McCain checked into his first NBA game.
Sure, it was only preseason and against non-NBA competition, but the rookie out of Duke still got to take the floor at the Wells Fargo Center in a Sixers jersey for the first time. Sporting a white headband, red and blue painted nails and a smile, McCain realized his lifelong dream.
“It’s the best feeling of my life,” he said postgame. “I was nervous, but that was amazing.”
The nerves were evident.
McCain picked up two fouls 24 seconds into his stint. Head coach Nick Nurse said McCain also missed a defensive assignment.
“I think you’re going to get some mistakes out there,” Nurse said. “He came in and fouled … didn’t get one of the defensive schemes right. He made about three mistakes as fast as you can make ‘em when he checked in.”
But credit to the 20-year-old — he settled in, helping the Sixers cruise to a 139-84 win over the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL. McCain finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists in a team-high 27 minutes.
It wasn’t the most efficient night overall (5-of-14), but McCain did show off his deep shooting prowess, knocking down 4-of-9 from three. What’s impressive about McCain’s shot is how quickly he’s able to get it off at 6-foot-3. Off the dribble, off the catch, from 30-feet — McCain is going to shoot it and shoot it fast.
“Yeah, he can get ‘em up, man,” Nurse said. “He comes off screens hard. He’s a guy that can find himself space to get open. He’s got a pretty decent drive game on top of it. … Quick release and all that stuff. It’s really important.”
When Nicolas Batum was with the Sixers last season, he showed his ability to hit no-dip threes. Batum would catch the ball with his hands already in shooting position and almost instantaneously catch it and shoot it. At 6-foot-8 and with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, Batum is the type of player you’d expect to able to do that.
A 6-foot-3 guard with a 6-foot-3 wingspan though?
JARED MCCAIN NO DIP THREE pic.twitter.com/QqSEM3wX42
— Dan Olinger (@dan_olinger) October 8, 2024
As Nurse said, McCain can get a bunch of threes up in a hurry. That’s a skill in itself. No, it wasn’t NBA competition, but the ability to hunt and take nine threes in 27 minutes is impressive.
The no-dip shot is all part of McCain’s focus to get the ball up quick against NBA length and athleticism.
“It’s something, as a smaller guard, I think you have to be able to do,” McCain said. “If I’m going to be a small guard who catches and shoots, you have to have a quick release, with everybody being so tall in this league. But it’s something I’ve been working on for a while now. It’s nice that it’s showing.”
There’s no doubt that McCain’s shooting is what got him drafted at 16th overall. He hit over 41% of his threes at Duke. He made big ones in big spots. Even going back to high school, the shot was what drew talent evaluators to McCain.
But there is much more to him. His ability to rebound at his size stands out. He pulled down seven boards Monday and averaged five a game for the Blue Devils. For a guard of his size who doesn’t have elite athletic ability, it’s noteworthy. He’s also better off the dribble than advertised.
Nurse has been complimentary of his rookie since the team selected him. He continued to heap praise on him during camp, noting there is more to his game than his jumper. That praise continued postgame Monday.
“First time on an NBA floor. You don’t really have to worry about foul problems in a game like this; he was going to play a lot tonight regardless,” Nurse said. “And you’re right, he did settle in. Gets a bucket, gets going. Again, he competes and that’s what I like about him. He’s pretty tough. Pretty good game after a shaky start.”
Another adjustment for McCain: rookie duties. Being a heavily-recruited player at Duke, he wasn’t subject to any sort of freshman treatment by upperclassmen. He was on smoothie duty for Kyle Lowry (while picking the 38-year-old’s brain) during training camp in the Bahamas.
McCain, along with fellow rookies Adem Bona and Justin Edwards, are simply trying to get the basics down before they even take the court.
“We’re sitting in the locker room and I have no idea how much time I have,” McCain said. “Can I go to the bathroom? Are we talking to the coaches now? When does film start? When do we rim out? I have zero clue on any of that. We just laugh about. You just kind of have to find your rhythm, find your routine and talk to the vets.”
With one preseason game in the books, McCain should only get more comfortable from here.