Sixers rookie Jared McCain throws ceremonial first pitch at Phillies game

Sixers rookie Jared McCain threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday before the Phillies-Mets game.

Jared McCain got his first taste of a Philadelphia crowd on Sunday afternoon, just across the street from where he will make his NBA debut this upcoming season with the Sixers.

McCain was selected to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Citizens Bank Park before the Phillies hosted the New York Mets. McCain stepped up to the plate on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in South Philadelphia, waited for his sign, took his stance and launched from just in front of the mound. From the angles that have been posted so far, it looks like it was a damn good throw.

Certainly looks like a strike to me. (Hey Phillies fans, should this be the fifth man in the Phils’ pitching rotation? Just kidding… unless?)

A shooting guard standing 6-foot-3, McCain was selected by the Sixers in the first round, 16th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft after just one season at Duke University. He was joined at the Phillies’ game by fellow 2024 draft classmate and now Sixers teammate, Adem Bona. Bona, a 6-foot-8 center with a 7-foot-4 wingspan, was drafted by Philadelphia in the second round, 41st overall.

If you haven’t been playing too much attention to the Sixers’ draft picks as they begin their transition into the NBA, let us catch you up. To learn more about McCain and what can be expected of him this upcoming season, check out this analysis from our Josh Grieb. To learn more about big man Bona, check out this analysis from our Tom West.

McCain, Bona and the Sixers will begin training camp for the upcoming NBA season on Oct. 1 in The Bahamas.