More things have gone right than not thus far during the 2025-26 season for the Philadelphia 76ers, as we have plenty of positive takeaways from the team’s 14-11 start. One situation that we would call underwhelming or disappointing, though, is Jared McCain’s sophomore season. With 16 games now under his belt, the former Duke Blue Devil is averaging just 6.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists, while shooting just 36.2 percent from the field. In Sunday night’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks, McCain went
0-for-5 from the field in a scoreless effort, albeit with a season-high-tying five assists.
Now, let’s get something out of the way first: I don’t find this slow start to be Jared McCain’s fault. He is coming off a meniscus surgery last season, and then suffered a torn UCL in his right thumb during a workout in September. He missed out on a normal training camp and preseason and then was out there on the court in November, after not having played an NBA game in 11 months. McCain would receive some spot minutes, while wearing a brace on his leg he found uncomfortable. He later received a weekend in the G League to get some run, and found a slimmer brace option he liked better, but his minutes are still oscillating in the high-teens to low-20s. Are we at all shocked he hasn’t hit his stride yet?
On a “normal” bad team where a mid-first-round draft pick broke out and was looking at being the runaway Rookie of the Year prior to an injury, he’d be used as a team centerpiece. If McCain was playing in Washington or Utah, he would likely be seeing 30-plus minutes per night by now, with all the primary ball handler reps you could throw at him. I don’t want to engage in too much of a hypothetical, but under such a scenario, you have to imagine there’s a much better chance McCain would have found his rhythm by now, and we’d be seeing a guy playing more like the rookie who took the league by storm.
On the other hand, I understand all this from Nick Nurse’s perspective. After last season, it’s not unrealistic to consider the possibility that both his and Daryl Morey’s jobs are on the line this year. Tyrese Maxey is playing like he belongs on MVP ballots. Third overall pick VJ Edgecombe looks absolutely ready to be Maxey’s backcourt mate both in the present and future. Edgecombe is a cleaner fit alongside Maxey, so it makes sense to give him on-ball reps to help develop that side of his game. Quentin Grimes is playing well and could definitely still be part of this team’s future at just 25 years old. Joel Embiid and Paul George are still around and the Eastern Conference is a giant mystery box. The Detroit Pistons are in first place in the East and the “supposed to be tanking this season” Boston Celtics are in third. Why shouldn’t the Sixers go out and try to win as many games as they can and see what happens?
Still, it leaves Jared McCain in a weird spot. A 21-year-old guard who had needed just about a dozen games to start dropping 30-spots in the best league in the world would normally be more of a focus. But he’s understandably not. Such a player would ordinarily be someone fan bases would have cemented into the long-term vision board, but McCain honestly seems like the most likely young guy to be traded from this group. All of it is very strange, which, of course, means it’s all very Sixers.
