What can the Sixers expect from Jared McCain in his rookie season?

Philadelphia’s 2024 first-round pick will have a number of veteran guards to contend with for playing time during his rookie season.

Making their first draft pick in literal years, the Sixers had some options at the 16th pick in this past year’s first round. Tennessee forward Dalton Knecht had slid all the way down the board. Colorado wing Tristan de Silva was also available as a potential NBA-ready player ready to slide into a rotation.

Instead, Philadelphia went with a 6-foot-3 shooting guard in Jared McCain. In his lone season at Duke, McCain averaged 14.3 points, five boards, and 1.9 assists per game, where his reputation as a sharpshooter followed him. He shot 46.2% from the field and 41.4% on 5.8 three-point attempts per game.

President of basketball operations Daryl Morey was very happy that McCain fell to them at 16, telling reporters that night they viewed McCain as a “top-10 player in that class.”

However in summer league, McCain did not shine as much as some might have hoped.

He was still able to average 11.8 points per game, but really struggled to make shots at an efficient rate. He shot only 25.5% on nearly seven three-point attempts per game and shot just 28.6% from the field overall.

So after a rough first impression, McCain will have a lot of veteran players to compete with to break into the backcourt rotation right away. On top of bringing in Caleb Martin, Eric Gordon, and Reggie Jackson, the Sixers also brought back Kyle Lowry, who had a big role with the team last season.

McCain’s lack of experience will have him on the outside looking in on a team that is desperate to win something significant right now. All three of Lowry, Gordon, and Jackson will be prioritized for those backup guard minutes with a coach who tends to lean with experience over youth.

That doesn’t mean his rookie season will be a complete wash. McCain still profiles as the best pure shooter of the bunch, and he might be able to shoot his way into playing time.

Of the players listed above, the next best spot-up man is Gordon, a career 37% three-point shooter on 6.2 attempts per game. A lack of reliable spacing might push Gordon into the starting lineup. How much the team will need, and then can rely upon Gordon, who turns 36 this season, will impact how much opportunity McCain will get.

Essentially, McCain’s chance at the rotation this season comes down to how desperate the team gets for spacing around their stars. It’s a legitimate question, with the two current starters in Martin and Kelly Oubre Jr. both being average-at-best three-point shooters in the regular season for much of their careers.

If McCain, having adjusted to the big leagues in the summer, can come in and hit shots, he may just shoot his way into playing time. There’s reason to be optimistic of that happening as well. While the shots weren’t falling for him in summer league, nothing about his attempts indicated that something had gone wrong or broken in his jump shot.

It’s also important to point out that McCain played in just eight games over the course of summer league, a very small sample size to keep track of just about anything.

So while it may not be likely, the best case scenario for McCain would be the outcome Landry Shamet had here before he was traded halfway through his rookie season.

Shamet, another undersized guard lacking the physical tools to blow anyone way, shot his way into playing time. He came in shooting five threes a game, making 40.4% of those in 20 minutes a game as a rookie in Philadelphia. Admittedly for a much thinner team, he was just too necessary a floor spacer to not play.

McCain still has a lot of hard work ahead, but if can shoot that well at any point this season, the numbers game at the guard position will be a good problem for the Sixers to have.