After almost a calendar year-long absence due to a torn meniscus further stretched out by an untimely thumb fracture just right before training camp began, Jared McCain had finally made his long-awaited return to the Philadelphia 76ers. However, as expected, he has been incredibly rusty, and his current, macerated role is pretty telling of his level of play at present.
McCain has appeared in only five outings entering their Thursday night matinee against the Bucks, averaging a meager 10 minutes per game. Even worse, his shooting seems to have taken a sabbatical, as he has drained just two of his 16 total field foal attempts thus far. In fact, he made just his first basket back from injury in his fifth game, so clearly, he will be needing a lot of reps to regain his mojo.
Unfortunately, given the massive setback early in his career that he had just moved past, a slew of his current peers have already surged past him. In fact, it will be hard to deny that at this juncture, it would be disingenuous to still hold McCain as the best prospect to come out of his draft class.
76ers guard Jared McCain is no longer the best player from his draft class
Before he went down with a season-ending injury in his freshman campaign, McCain was well on his way to win Rookie of the Year as the clear frontrunner. Despite getting selected outside the lottery, he had an NBA-ready skill set, and he was undeniably the best scorer among his peers.
Now, given his injury, his billing as the premiere player out of the 2024 draft class no longer holds water.
As everyone knows, guards have it tougher when it comes to acclimatizing to the speed and style of play in the league. While McCain already got that one figured out last season, he is on the process of relearning things anew. Meanwhile, those players who were trailing him in the rookie trail last season have benefited from their healthy stints thus far.
Case in point? Stephon Castle, who ended up winning the top rookie plum. This season, the sophomore has taken a significant leap on both ends of the court for the upstart Spurs. At this rate, he is a safe bet to make All-Star teams on a perennial basis moving forward.
There is also Alex Sarr, who has taken a complete 180 from last season when he was unusually inefficient for a big man. He has quickly flourished with the Wizards. The same can be said for top pick Zaccharie Risacher, who had just gotten past his slow start to Year 2, as well as Kel’el Ware, who had already entrenched himself as a starting center for the Heat.
To be fair, all of those players were picked before McCain, but the 76ers guard has as much talent as those guys. His ceiling is likewise a lofty one, although he will have a lot of catching up to do given the ugly card he was dealt.
People still have a lot of faith that McCain can return to form and resume his stunted growth. Hopefully, the 76ers do the necessary things to allow him to burgeon into the lethal player he was — and still is — slated to become.