Sixers guard Jared McCain and Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells have been named the NBA’s Rookies of the Month for the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, respectively, the league announced today (via Twitter). The honor technically covers more than a month, since it’s for games played in October as well as November.
The 16th overall pick in the 2024 draft, McCain didn’t initially project to be part of Philadelphia’s regular rotation and played fewer than four minutes in each of his first two games of the season.
However, injuries cleared a path for him to get minutes and he took advantage of that opportunity, averaging 16.0 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.5 rebounds on 25.2 minutes per game across 18 outings (seven starts) to open his NBA career. McCain also posted a solid shooting line of .448/.364/.906.
Wells, who was drafted with the No. 39 pick in June, is an even unlikelier early-season standout than McCain, but also took advantage of his team being affected by the injury bug and capitalized on an opportunity to play rotation minutes right out of the gate.
In 20 games (15 starts) in October and November, Wells averaged 12.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 1.9 APG in 25.3 MPG. He provided some much-needed outside shooting for the Grizzlies, knocking down 39.4% of 5.0 attempts per night from beyond the arc.
According to the NBA (Twitter link), McCain beat out fellow nominees Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, and Carlton Carrington for Rookie of the Month recognition in the East. The other nominees in the West were Dalton Knecht, Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, Ryan Dunn, and Wells’ teammate Zach Edey.