The Philadelphia 76ers’ top pick from the 2024 NBA draft, former Duke Blue Devils guard Jared McCain, put together an impressive showing in his NBA debut.
On Monday, the 76ers squared off with the Oklahoma City Thunder for their opening summer league game; McCain showed flashes of his brilliance that led to him being selected No. 16 overall in this year’s draft. The former Blue Devil finished Monday night’s contest with 15 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. You can check out some of the top highlights from McCain’s Salt Lake City summer league debut in the video below.
While McCain was a bright spot for Philadelphia in their 102-92 victory to open up the summer league, he did have his fair share of first-game jitters. The 76ers point guard finished the night 6-15 from the field and missed all six of his three-point attempts. McCain also went 3-5 from the free throw line. However, the Philadelphia rookie did finish the game with just one turnover, showcasing his ability to protect the basketball.
76er fans could get another opportunity to see what McCain has to offer in summer league action on Tuesday when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies. That game is scheduled for a 7:00 PM ET tip-off time and can be viewed live on ESPN or streamed via the ESPN app.
McCain on Duke preparing him for NBA
After just one season at Duke, McCain‘s NBA dreams came to life last week, selected with the No. 16 overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. A moment that was not just documented on ESPN and ABC’s broadcast coverage of the draft but on McCain’s social media accounts as well.
For as much as he’s known for his play on the court, McCain is also known for his presence on social media. Specifically, on the app TikTok, where his influence is the strongest, 3.3 million followers have frequent videos of him dancing and documenting his day-to-day life as an athlete. Which he described as a double life in his first sit-down interview as a 76er.
“I get a lot of the Troy Bolton comparisons, Corbin Bleu comparisons. That’s my player comp right now,” McCain said jokingly referring to High School Musical. “But yeah, it’s kind of cool to have two different lives almost, obviously the social media and the basketball.”
“But a lot of stuff I do is almost combined with it, I try to have fun, that’s literally the main thing I do with life,” McCain added. “I talk to God about it a lot every day and I kind of bring that onto the court. I’m just having fun and I’m out there doing what I loved since I was four years old.”
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