I don't care that he left Sacramento to go to high school in bullshit Southern California, then played in college for the Duke Blue bullshit Devils, or that he now plays for the bullshit Philadelphia 76ers: I love Sacramento native and Sixers point guard Jared McCain.
When he was drafted 16th overall this past spring, many snickered that a little guy who paints his nails and is famous foremost for his TikToks would be playing in Philadelphia, on the theory that he would be a weird cultural fit in a city whose citizenry prides itself on eating rocks and loving pain. That line of thinking misses a key thing that McCain has in him, which is: That Dog. McCain is a hooper's hooper, and the main aspect of McCain's game that has struck me through the serious hot stretch he's enjoying, aside from the discrete basketball skills he's showing off, is his ironclad mentality. He's operating like he's the best player on the court at all times, which I think is as important for young players adjusting to NBA speed as hitting open shots or making rotations. To belong, you have to believe you belong, and if there's one thing that makes me optimistic McCain will stick, it's his confidence.
As for that hot stretch: In the four games that Tyrese Maxey has missed since injuring his hamstring, McCain is averaging 25.5 points per game on 45/42/100 shooting splits with more assists (16) than combined turnovers and fouls (14). As for the discrete basketball skills: McCain's jumper is striking. He is a little tiny guy but he gets good lift, and he snaps his wrist like Anthony Edwards. As his big legs hint toward, he's super balanced going at high speeds and he pulls the jumper confidently with guys right in his face, which he'll need to be comfortable doing, as he stands a crisp 6-foot-2. His handle is sticky and he has the instinct that the best little guys develop of how to get into the chest of opposing bigs and make space when there isn't seemingly much space to make.
McCain had a couple of nice feeds to Joel Embiid against the New York Knicks, and with Maxey, Embiid, and Paul George all unavailable against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, he got to run way more of the offense and showcase how wide his passing range is. The one-handed skip pass at 2:50 in his highlight reel was particularly eye-catching.
That sort of thing is as encouraging as his three-point shooting. When McCain manipulates the defense like that or sprints into a smart relocation three (2:01 above), you can see a guy who is actively trying to warp the game to his will rather than sit back and find his spots. I think this is an essential attitude for a prospect to have, especially one who needs the ball in his hands.
Occasionally, a player will make huge developmental strides several years into their career—Dante Exum and Malik Monk come to mind—but most really good players show themselves to be really good immediately upon entering the league. (If this sounds faintly tautological, it's not a hard rule, and plenty of players burn fast and fade quick.) As the talent floor in the NBA rises way faster than the talent ceiling, competition for minutes and roster spots is fierce and will only become fiercer in the years to come, so a guy like McCain can't really afford to be passive. Someone like Scoot Henderson, who was bad last year and has been less bad this year, only gets as much runway as he's gotten because he was the third overall pick.
McCain went 16th, and he's playing 19 minutes a night for a team that wants to win a championship this year. He doesn't get to be bad for a season; if he wants to have a career, he needs to hit shots and be productive now. When asked in a press conference about going in the middle of the first round, he gave a perfect answer, the verbal equivalent of the steam nose emoji guy: "You have to go in the NBA and think, 'I'm the best player,' every time I step on the court," he said. "Even if it's Donovan Mitchell [on the other team], I gotta believe I'm the best player, because there's no way I'm gonna play well if I don't."
That's the ideal competitive mindset, and it inspires as much confidence that McCain will stick as his 38.5 three-point shooting and eight-percent turnover rate do. The great thing about the NBA, though this is obviously not unique, is that there is no zero-sum outcome on any possession, any game. The percentages and career averages say someone like Donovan Mitchell will score a lot and a team like the Cavs will beat a banged-up team like the Sixers. But the game isn't in the percentages, and it isn't in the past, and someone as green as McCain being as game for the fight is exactly what fans should want to see.
