Jared McCain was the early frontrunner for Rookie of the Year last season until a torn meniscus in December ended his season. This season, the 76ers are counting on him to take a step forward in his sophomore season as part of a promising young backcourt with Tyrese Maxey, Quentin Grimes (who is still negotiating his contract for this season) and No. 3 pick last June V.J. Edgecombe.
Now comes word that McCain will miss the start of the season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right thumb, the team announced.
This injury has hit other NBA players — most notably Paul George — and usually takes about a month to recover from.
Last season, McCain stood out to start the season, averaging 15.3 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds a game while shooting 38.3% from beyond the arc. He’s also a standout NBA player on social media, most recently because of a team photo of him looking like he was about to bench 10-pound weights. McCain had fun with that and posted a video of himself doing bicep curls with a 2.5-pound dumbbell.
That was funny. To Sixers fans his injury is not as this team has the potential to be a contender in a down East, but only if everyone stays healthy.
