The NBA has seen smiles like Jared McCain’s before.
Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson had magnetic smiles that captivated and charmed throughout the 1980s. In today’s league, Anthony Edwards has a great one, but that’s usually followed by the kind of trash talk you wouldn’t want around your mother. And then there’s Stephen Curry, who, at age 36, is still a smiling, baby-faced assassin who can put opponents to sleep.
McCain has a smile that makes you believe that he’s happy to be here soaking in every moment of his rookie season for the Philadelphia 76ers. But, like all of the telegenic guards, McCain’s smile hides something: a competitive streak that has him terrorizing opposing defenses, one relocation 3-pointer at a time.
Has McCain’s race to the front of the Rookie of the Year race been surprising? Yes, for how quickly the 20-year-old has emerged onto the NBA scene. But maybe we shouldn’t be surprised.
It’s possible people were too focused on watching and dissecting his wildly popular TikToks and painted fingernails to properly evaluate his basketball acumen. Yes, McCain, like many young athletes who have grown up in the social-media era, presents a different public persona than his predecessors, but he has many of the same qualities as those great NBA guards, specifically his hero, Curry.
“He’s always been my favorite player in the league,” McCain told The Athletic. “Steph influenced so many people, including me, in my generation. When I was growing up, I wanted to shoot 3s from as far away as I could.”
McCain grew up in California, during the height of Curry’s career. He was 11 and vividly remembers watching during Curry’s first championship run with the Golden State Warriors. He’s one of the first of the Curry generation to make it to the league, inspired by watching the Golden State guard change the game. There are significant parts of McCain’s game that remind you of the future Hall of Famer.
“I think I watched him more off the ball than on the ball,” he said. “I watched the way he relocates after he passes it. I watched the way he’s able to sprint around the court. I think I’m in really good shape, and I get my feet set fast. So those are some things that I think I can use to my advantage to get shots off.
“I know I have to be crafty at the rim, so I’m still working on my finishes there. But when people close out on you, you have to figure out how to create space.”
What has made the rookie so difficult to guard early in his career? He’s a terrific shooter, with a quick release and unlimited range. But he’s more advanced off the dribble than anticipated. He possesses a quick first step and has a strong body that allows him to get his shoulders past a defender on his way to the basket. That makes up for the fact that he plays almost exclusively below the rim. He has a developed midrange game and is a talented pick-and-roll player.
McCain moves without the ball at an almost expert level. He knows how to navigate and manipulate screens to get open and to create a basketball advantage. He has mastered passing to a teammate and relocating for an open look from 3-point range.
Jared McCain looking Steph-like on back-to-back plays pic.twitter.com/eIsRKwMO7f
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) November 23, 2024
We should have known that the skill set that made him a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in California, a McDonald’s All-American, a Duke standout and a first-round pick would translate to the league. Shooting, in this era after Curry’s revolution, always translates. Especially when you can catch and shoot or shoot off the dribble or off movement, as well as McCain does.
He has shown there is a steely competitor underneath the aw-shucks smile and TikTok dances. That he’s doing all of this for a version of the Philadelphia 76ers that resembles a washed, all-bark-no-bite Apollo Creed in his pre-fight news conference with Ivan Drago is as amazing as it is surprising. The Sixers are 3-13 on the season after getting smoked at home on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Clippers. If the season ended today, Philadelphia would have the second-highest lottery odds, and they do have a top-six protected pick. So if you are a Sixers fan looking for a positive, they are firmly in the Cooper Flagg race. The health of superstar center Joel Embiid has been tenuous for almost a year. All-Star forward Paul George has suffered multiple knee injuries since training camp, and he hasn’t played well when he has been in uniform.
McCain has been the biggest bright spot this season for the Sixers. Right now, he has a good chance to be the league’s Rookie of the Year. He set an NBA record for most 3-pointers made in his first five career starts, with 26. He set the Sixers record for most 3s made through the first 15 games of his career, with 37. He set the rookie record for most consecutive games with at least three 3-pointers made, with eight straight.
McCain went seven consecutive games scoring at least 20 points. By contrast, the other rookies in this class have combined for 10 such games. In part because of his teammates’ injuries, McCain has been Philadelphia’s most consistent offensive player. And no matter how this season turns out, he and star guard Tyrese Maxey have the potential to form a potent backcourt duo.
“He’s himself,” Maxey said. “That’s what everybody likes about him. He’s not afraid to be himself off the floor, and when you have that, that’s half the battle. He’s been playing well from the very beginning. In training camp and in preseason. We all knew pretty early that he could play.”
The 76ers front office fell in love with McCain’s shooting in the pre-draft process. But what sold executive Daryl Morey on drafting him was that McCain picked up multiple facets of the game abnormally fast. If you asked the Sixers in June whether McCain would have been this vital to their team by November, they would have chuckled and told you as gently as possible to calm down.
“I’m surprised for sure that he’s produced this much, this early,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “But when you saw him in summer league, he did the little things. I thought it was pretty obvious that this kid could play.”
Yet, for many, it was easy to wonder if the kid who embraced the TikTok craze could play at the NBA level. Since he was a teenager, he’s had to have a sense of toughness.
“I’m so used to the talk right now that it doesn’t really matter what anyone says,” McCain said. “I’ve been dealing with it since high school. I hear it all the time; they call me ‘TikTok Boy’ and things like that.
“It’s just that I’m on a bigger stage right now. I know that I work hard. I know how much I put into the game of basketball. So, I’m not going to allow how people feel about what I do to affect my play.”
If there was truly a “Steph Curry” moment for McCain, it happened a week ago against the Miami Heat, one that McCain himself didn’t pick up on. He was running as a wing in transition in the first half, with teammate Kelly Oubre Jr. leading the opportunity. Oubre ended up getting a relatively uncontested layup, because two Heat players ran to McCain to try to deny him.
That’s the kind of gravity McCain has earned in the last few weeks. When told of this, McCain just smiled and laughed.
His other landmark moment this season came against the Brooklyn Nets, when he nailed a 3-pointer, turned and yelled emphatically, “I’m the Rookie of the Year.”
“I’M THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR!”
—Jared McCain 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ezzlIDg4Q9
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 23, 2024
We don’t know if the Sixers are going to turn this around. They have dug a huge hole and are already six games out of the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference, which means home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
But we do know that McCain has been the curiosity who’s quickly turning into a star, and no matter what, that’s the win Philadelphia can take away from the season.
“It’s a great feeling having this kind of an impact on the team,” McCain said. “Coming to a team with Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and Joel Embiid, I just wanted to find a way to get on the floor. So, this is pretty crazy to think about.
“I didn’t try to put any expectation on myself. I just wanted to come in and be myself and work as hard as I could. I wanted to let the work show.”
(Top photo: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
