Can Jared McCain be the Answer for the Sixers?

Despite Philly’s reputation as a sports town that prizes toughness, grit and carnivorous defense, Sixers Nation largely sees basketball stardom in only one form: the tiny chucker. Like imprinted ducklings who believe a dog is their mother, the current generation of Philadelphia basketball enthusiasts was raised from the nest by Allen Iverson, even if it’s the middle-aged version who sits courtside at Wells Fargo Center. Hulking shot-blockers, perimeter stoppers, passing savants? Meh. They’re okay, but the heart wants what it wants. In the city that Reed Dollaz built, that’s specifically a little dude who flings up shots with maniacal abandon.

The Sixers are 2-9, which represents the NBA’s second-worst record. The defense has been bad and the offense worse. A risky offseason gambit to unite a new Big Three was successful, but All-Stars Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George have yet to play together due to injuries (and they’ve all suffered maladies, not just one of them). If Philly wanted to yank the plug on the season, the team’s 2025 first round pick is only partially protected. And, somewhere along the ridgeline of this tortured route, Joel shoved a beat reporter in the locker room. 

Yet, at the moment, it’s all smiles among Sixers loyalists. The tingling of optimism is because they have a new psycho dwarf. Jared McCain, a 6-foot-2 rookie guard who went 16th in last summer’s NBA Draft, has quickly blossomed as the fanbase’s preferred phenotype. While his TikTok dancing and painted fingernails have made him a target for “zesty” allegations—as if the sensitive e-boi is an unfamiliar Gen Z trope—the 20-year old has been shockingly effective as a pint-size scorer. 

For the season, McCain has modest averages of 13.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. While logging 30 minutes a night over the last four games, those numbers have surged to 25.5, 2.3 rebs, and 4 assists. Over that span, he’s heaved up a whopping 10 3-pointers a game and canned them at a 42.5% clip. In Wednesday’s loss to the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers, McCain led his undermanned squad with a career-high 34 points and 10 dimes. Comparisons to his statistical profile are easy to identify: Donovan Mitchell of the Cavs, Cam Thomas of the Nets, Jordan Poole of the Wizards, Jalen Brunson of the Knicks, and, of course, McCain’s own teammate Maxey. 

McCain’s success doesn’t seem flukish. He was a 41.4% 3-point shooter at Duke and, at a workout last May, Jonathan Givony of Draft Express observed that McCain had a “lightning quick release” and “may be the best shooter in this draft class.” He’s not on an unsustainable heater from anywhere except the free throw line and midrange (where he’s only taken eight attempts) but has a True Shooting Percentage of 59.1%, a tick above current league average of 57.3%. Despite starting only one game, he now leads all NBA rookies in points and 3-pointers made.  

Already, McCain has shown an intuitive knack for hunting catch-and-shoot 3s that borders on Curry-esque. He’s always moving, repositioning, and darting away from distracted enemies to create visible passing lanes for kick-outs. Large-wagoned Frenchman Guerschon Yabusele, who has earned time at center in Embiid’s absence, clearly relishes finding McCain when he pops free on the perimeter. It may sound odd, but there is a unique joy that springs from excavating a clean look for a knockdown shooter—it’s both selfless and rapacious, an act that rewards a teammate while punishing an opponent with the exact type of shot they’re desperate to prevent.

McCain may also have more point guard skills than initially advertised. While he isn’t a springy athlete, he’s preternaturally smart and polished. McCain rarely gets frazzled or sped up, and when he underestimates the length of professional defenders it feels more like a moment for recalibration than being overmatched. If he gets stymied on a drive, he knows where surrounding shooters are—and he uses those controlled intrusions into the lane to lure opponents a step too far away from teammates beyond the arc. Maxey is a whistling blur; McCain is a patient manipulator. 

For a team with the highest ambitions and a lopsided “stars and scrubs” roster, McCain’s sudden emergence as more than a long-term project or blockbuster trade chip feels revelatory. Whether he stays in the Sixers’ starting lineup remains to be seen—other options in the backcourt would be Kyle Lowry or Caleb Martin—but his abilities as both a ball-handler and spot-up threat immediately make him an easy complementary offensive piece on a team without a ton of upside elsewhere.

The modern NBA keeps trending taller, but lanky chaps who can shoot and dribble create canyons of space for pipsqueaks to scamper around freely in the underbrush. The Cavs’ top-rated offense is led by Mitchell and Darius Garland, both of whom are under 6-foot-2 barefoot. Around the league, smallish combo guards like Norman Powell of the Clippers, Dennis Schröder of the Nets, and Collin Sexson of the Jazz are thriving (outside of established miniature stars like Dame Lillard and Kyrie Irving). 

Still, it’s possible that a Philadelphia backcourt with McCain and Maxey might not possess the size, on-ball defense, disruption, or switchability to make for an ideal duo. Neither are particularly sticky-fingered and the duo shares the lowest defection rate on the team among anyone who plays. In fact, the only elven backcourt to win a chip in recent years was Toronto with Lowry and Fred VanVleet in 2019, both of whom were exceptionally rugged defenders for men who can bathe in a teacup. Whatever, those types of concerns can be addressed later.

For now, if the question is why Sixers Nation seems remarkably cheerful following a nightmare start, the Answer is Jared McCain.

If you enjoyed this essay and the artwork, you will surely be interested in The Joy of Basketball, by Ben Detrick and Andrew Kuo. Find it where you buy books, even if you hate reading like we do.