Jared McCain is showing he’s more than just a shooter and flashing exciting potential

Jared McCain is an early bright spot for Sixers as the rookie has staked his claim for a more prominent role in the rotation.

The Philadelphia 76ers, without the presence of All-Stars Joel Embiid and Paul George, have limped out of the gate to start this season at 1-4. Frustration has started to build amongst the fan base and team, as the Sixers have been often times hard to watch. Their offense has been stagnant and searching for a spark. The Sixers have struggled to find anything in terms of self-creation and playmaking outside of All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey.

Enter Jared McCain, the Sixers’ rookie guard taken 16th overall out of Duke in the 2024 NBA Draft.

McCain, the former five-star recruit out of Corona Centennial High School in California, has made a strong early impression in his first five career games as a pro. McCain has appeared in all of the Sixers’ games to date coming off the bench. While his raw numbers won’t jump off the page (7.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists per game on 54 TS%), he has made his presence felt in more ways than one.

Coming out of Duke most recognized him for his dead-eye shooting ability from the perimeter. McCain knocked down 41.4% of his three-point attempts in his lone year as a Blue Devil. He turned in several explosive scoring performances during his freshman season, including a 35-point outburst which included eight three-pointers. That output set a Duke single-game freshman scoring record previously set by New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson.

To this point in his NBA career McCain is only 2-of-10 from three point range, but has made an impact in other ways with his energy, ability to get into the lane, draw fouls, and even his active hands on defense. McCain’s blend of balance, craftiness and shiftiness to fight through contact and fend off defenders in route to the basket has been a welcomed sign for the Sixers, showing that he’s much more than just a shooter. McCain shot an outstanding 61.7% at the rim on over 200 attempts in college which bodes well for his growing and untapped creation upside.

McCain turned in his best performance to date in the Sixers’ most recent contest against the Memphis Grizzlies. He poured in 19 points on 8-of-16 from the field in his 17 minutes of action — 17 of those points coming in the final frame.

Those 19 points are the most in any single game for a rookie in the NBA so far this season. McCain has showed his ability to score at all three levels and a confidence in his game that has allowed him to thrive early in his young NBA career. McCain is staking an early claim for a more prominent role in Nick Nurse’s rotation as his youthfulness and skill level have allowed for him to blossom in his limited role.

McCain’s ability to play with and without the basketball lend to him being useful in a lot of different lineups despite his size. He’s a seamless fit alongside the Sixers’ trio of stars. Whether it’s Kyle Lowry and Fred Van Vleet in Toronto or Lowry alongside Maxey during his tenure as a Sixer, Nurse has shown throughout his coaching career that he is not afraid to play two smaller guards alongside each other in the backcourt.

Many criticized the Sixers’ selection of McCain because of their perceived belief that he would not be able to play alongside Maxey at his size. What McCain lacks in stature defensively he makes up for with basketball IQ, active hands, and veteran savvy. McCain has a strong core and lower body that allows him to hold his ground while guarding players off the bounce and deter drives. That strength coupled with his hustle allows McCain to be a very good rebounder for a small guard as evidenced by him pulling down five rebounds per game during his college career. McCain has active hands in passing lanes and is not afraid to get on the floor to dig out loose balls as we have already seen him do a couple times so far this season. This set of skills allow you to imagine Maxey and McCain playing alongside each other effectively now and being your potential backcourt of the future.

McCain ranked in the 95th percentile as a pick-and-roll ball handler and 91st percentile in DHO situations at Duke, per Synergy, flashing his on-ball upside as a scorer and a creator. McCain has shown an effectiveness in those situations already this season as well. Here’s a clip of McCain working a pick-and-roll with Guerschon Yabusele in preseason and attacking the drop coverage of Luke Kornet to get to a sweet right-handed finish.

McCain’s ability to handle in these situations should excite fans for what it will look like alongside Embiid. McCain can use his pull-up shooting gravity to bend defenses and put them in a bind of having to choose whether to surrender pull-up jumpers and lane access to McCain or allow for Embiid to step into pick-and-pop threes and short-roll jumpers — a shot that he has mastered.

JJ Redick and Embiid in dribble handoff actions during the 2017-2019 seasons was one of the best and most efficient sources of offense in the NBA. Seth Curry also had a career year with the Sixers working similar actions in two-man game alongside Embiid. It’s easy to see how McCain, who is a better passer and finisher than both of those former Sixers guards, could thrive in that role and develop chemistry with Embiid who had high praise for the rookie’s plays throughout training camp. McCain’s shooting ability off the catch and off movement while off the ball is also a great fit for the Sixers, who should look to optimize shooting and spacing around their Big 3.

While Sixers fans patiently await the season debuts of George (who is expected to make his Sixers debut on Monday vs. the Phoenix Suns, barring any setbacks) and Embiid, they should be excited about the flashes from their 20-year-old rookie guard who is just scratching the surface of his potential.