Philadelphia 76ers Release Major Jared McCain Update

The Philadelphia 76ers have an update on Jared McCain.

Dec 4, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain (20) controls the ball against the Orlando Magic during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The status of rookie guard Jared McCain has been unknown for quite some time now. When the Philadelphia 76ers learned the young rising star needed to get surgery on his knee due to a lateral meniscus tear, it was unclear if his rookie season was officially over or not.

At this point, the Sixers have confirmed that McCain will not return for the 2024-2025 NBA season.

On Thursday night, the team released a statement revealing that McCain’s latest evaluation led to this decision.

“Jared McCain was reviewed today by the surgeon who performed surgery on his left knee on Dec. 17. He is progressing well and will be out for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. Further updates on his progress will be provided as appropriate.”

Dec 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain (20) controls the ball against the Orlando Magic in the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

While the confirmation still comes off as a tough blow for the Sixers, McCain’s season ending prematurely isn’t exactly shocking at this point. When the young guard posted a Vlog episode to his YouTube channel, documenting his journey through surgery, McCain mentioned his season was over.

“This is terrible, I don’t wish this on my least favorite person in the world,” McCain said on day one of his recovery. “I don’t like this at all. I’m trying to find a reason of why this happened, but there’s no reason. It just happened, right? It just happened. It’s what I play, and we just got to get through it and know that God has a bigger plan for me. … I’m not playing the whole year? [It hasn’t settled in]. Still not. I don’t know when it’s gonna settle.”

At the start of the 2024-2025 NBA season, McCain didn’t have a sure role on the Sixers. Being that the Sixers have been playoff contenders for many seasons now, they had championship goals heading into the year. Typically, rookies don’t get a ton of action on a team that believes they are in a win-now situation, but McCain was different.

With the Sixers dealing with injuries, McCain got a chance to pick up some scattered minutes early on. By his eighth game, he collected 30 minutes of playing time for the first time. From that point on, McCain averaged over 30 minutes of playing time and even started eight games.

Once McCain was a rotational regular, he averaged 19 points, three rebounds, and three assists while shooting 40 percent from three on eight attempts per game.

Before he went down with a knee injury on December 13, McCain was regarded as the NBA’s Rookie of the Year favorite. Once he went down, it was clear McCain wouldn’t get a chance to clear the 65-game minimum required to win awards, even if he did return.

At this point, the Sixers don’t plan to have McCain back in the mix until next year. The former Duke star will get a long offseason of recovery while he focuses on his sophomore effort in the NBA. Meanwhile, the Sixers will attempt to get on the right track after starting the year off with a 15-20 record, which has them sitting in 11th place in the Eastern Conference.

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