This season hasn’t gone as planned for the Philadelphia 76ers, but, as is often the case, a silver lining has emerged.
Philadelphia is currently in 14th place in the East with a 3-12 win-loss record, above only the hapless Washington Wizards. The Sixers’ expected “Big Three” of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George has shared the floor in exactly one game so far this season–a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this week–as each of them has already missed at least six games.
Off the court, Philadelphia has not been lacking for drama either, with Embiid reportedly on the hunt for whomever leaked what went on during their team meeting last week.
While the Sixers’ stars have been erratic at best this season, their rookie guard Jared McCain has capitalized on this tough situation. McCain, who was the 16th overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, has scored at least 20 points in seven consecutive games and counting, becoming just the fifth rookie in franchise history to achieve this feat.
The 6’2 guard took on a bigger role after Tyrese Maxey was forced to sit out earlier this month due to a hamstring injury and has not looked back. Since the first outing that Maxey missed–a 116-106 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers two weeks ago–Philadelphia has played eight games and McCain has averaged 25.1 points on a scintillating 49.0% field goal shooting, 4.4 three-pointers, 2.6 rebounds, four assists, and 0.9 steals in 34.6 minutes over this stretch.
McCain’s shooting ability has proven to be his biggest strength and he has the potential to become a member of the exclusive 50/40/90 club as early as this season. Through the first 15 games of his career, he is shooting 48.4% from the field, 42.7% on three-pointers, and an astonishing 97.1% from the free throw line. He actually converted on the first 32 free throws of his NBA career and his first miss just came in the Sixers’ latest contest where he made only two-of-three.
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It seems like the strong play of McCain has earned him a permanent spot in Philadelphia’s starting line-up as he has stayed on despite the return of Maxey from injury. Though these two guards are both only 6’2 and may struggle against bigger backcourts, the offensive upside of this pairing is through the roof.
In the Sixers’ latest game, a 113-98 win versus the Brooklyn Nets, they gave a glimpse of what they are capable of together. The 20-year-old McCain led Philadelphia with 30 points on 11-of-20 field goals, six three-pointers, five rebounds, three assists and two steals while Maxey had 26 points on 11-of-17 shots, three three-pointers, four rebounds, five assists, four steals, and zero turnovers.
What makes these two unique is that they are highly efficient scorers compared with most guards and this should allow them to continue posting gaudy numbers even when these Sixers are at full strength.
The Sixers remain a win-now team and can still realistically turn this season around. Nonetheless, these early season struggles have shown them the potential of McCain and if he can maintain his recent form, it should only help this team achieve their goals not only in the distant future, but in the immediate one as well.
