There will most assuredly be a contingent of Sixers fans who do not want to hear any of this. Truthfully, how could you blame them? Even if Joel Embiid had yet to lace up the sneakers, not many could have predicted this abhorrent of a start to the season the team has had so far as the losses keep piling up.
Not many could have predicted the off-court turmoil they have already had to traverse either, though that was more predictable. And here’s why the only thing of true importance is Jared McCain.
Jared McCain has been a revelation for the Sixers’ franchise. Not often do franchise-altering draft selections make their way onto teams looking to contend for championships—usually due to where those teams are selecting in the draft. Couple that with the fact that most contending rosters do not have the room to incorporate a rookie, and it makes it even more improbable what McCain is doing, even with the injuries that the Sixers have already dealt with.
Think about some of the better rookies in recent years. What if Anthony Edwards was drafted by the 2020-21 Clippers? Or if Paolo Banchero was drafted by the 2022-23 Knicks? Or if Victor Wembanyama or Brandon Miller drafted by the 2023-24 Timberwolves? They would have taken an already very good team with star players in place and immediately elevated them to the elite tier.
Jared McCain may not be those guys, but his production thus far into his rookie year is arguably more impressive than any of those guys considering all of them were number one and two overall picks- McCain was drafted sixteenth. And the 2024-25 Sixers are better than any of those aforementioned teams, even if McCain was not on the roster.
I say all that to say this: what is happening in Philadelphia right now is incredibly rare. If you look at each NBA champion and runner-up of the last 15 seasons, only four of those thirty teams had a rookie that played a significant role for their squad, including in the postseason. That comes out to 13.3 percent.
Will the 76ers win the title this year? Probably not. However, Courtney Lee and Tyler Herro were key factors in their teams reaching the NBA Finals in their rookie years, and Jonathan Kuminga and Christian Braun were key factors in their teams winning it all in their rookie years. Jared McCain profiles to be a better rookie than all of them and to be a better player overall in the long run.
The Sixers have a lot of proving ground to make up in order to show that they still this year are capable of hoisting the trophy. Not many would have predicted them to beat the Celtics in a playoff series, even if they were at full strength and firing on all cylinders. Adding McCain’s unforeseen contributions to that equation certainly changes things.
But of course what nailing a draft pick like Jared McCain really does for a team in the Sixers’ position is allow for a softer resetting of the books and a smoother transition between eras when that time comes in a few years. The Brooklyn Nets, for example, are still recovering from the Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett days, let alone the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving days. The Spurs had not fielded a competitive roster before drafting Wembanyama after their previous playoff streak was old enough to legally drink. Those franchises never found their Jared McCain while still looking to win. The Sixers can at least say they did.
With Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George all on similar contractual timelines, McCain has the luxury of being able to grow within his role, knowing not much will change unless Father Time or the injury bug dictate otherwise. And with Embiid and George not guaranteed to sign another max contract again in their careers, the money will be there to solidify Maxey and McCain as the Sixers’ starting backcourt of the next decade.
That is not something anybody could have predicted on draft night in June, or at Summer League in July, or during the preseason less than two months ago. Jared McCain and his growth over his rookie-scale contract will represent everything that Sixers’ fans have to lean on heading into the post-Process era. If it was not for him- a rookie who has not played a quarter of a full NBA season- it would actually always be gloomy in Philadelphia.
