Philadelphia 76ers rookie guard Jared McCain has been famous in two fields long before he was an NBA player. McCain was a star basketball player at Duke last season, a sharpshooting guard who electrified the college basketball world with his scoring ability. The first round pick is also a viral sensation on TikTok, where he now has 3.7 million followers.
In fact, he's so famous that being an NBA player may even come second for McCain in the eyes of many. In a recent episode of Podcast P with Paul George, McCain dove into what it's like to be a social media star.
“It's TikTok. It's TikTok for sure,” McCain said when asked what he's more recognizable for. “I get called TikToker more than basketball player by far. Especially in college, outside of Cameron Indoor, fans would just wait outside but it was all people just there for my TikToks.”
The 76ers drafted McCain with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. His only college season was a successful one, as the California native averaged 14.3 points and 5.0 per game while shooting 41.4% from the 3-point line. The former Duke star should slot in next to breakout star Tyrese Maxey and new addition Paul George on the perimeter for Philly.
76ers offseason puts them in position for deepest playoff run yet
The Sixers' playoff shortcomings during the Joel Embiid era have been well-documented, as the former MVP big man has still never reached a conference finals with the many different roster combinations around him. Daryl Morey took a few more swings this offseason in an attempt to get over that hump, and now Embiid arguably enters 2024-25 with his best supporting cast yet.
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The big fish was of course Paul George, the two-way star on the wing. Morey was able to lure him away from the Los Angeles Clippers with a four-year max contract to replace Tobias Harris, who had a tumultuous tenure in Philadelphia. George fills both of the Sixers' immediate needs: shooting and perimeter defense. The Sixers also signed Eric Gordon to help with those two things in the guard room, to a lesser extent obviously.
Then there's the addition of Jared McCain, which many 76ers fans thought was a major steal when he slipped to Philly on Draft night. His skillset complements that of Maxey very well, with the established star serving as a quick twitch scorer who can get in the paint at will and the rookie serving as an elite shooter that can handle the ball to take the burden off of Maxey.
If they're healthy and especially if Joel Embiid can stay healthy for the whole season, this could be Philadelphia's best chance at an Eastern Conference Finals berth and beyond.
