“Hopefully I Can Focus”: Sixers’ Jared McCain Predicts Starstruck Moment in Rookie Year

During the recently concluded 2024 Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers selected Jared McCain with their 16th pick. Standing at 6’3”, McCain’s bread and butter is his three-point shooting. In his lone NCAA season for the Duke Blue Devils, almost half of his field goals were from the long-range. And that’s exactly why McCain fears that he will be too starstruck to play his natural game while facing the NBA’s greatest three-point shooter.

The 20-year-old’s game is clearly inspired by the modern pace-and-space basketball. Therefore, when he shares the floor with the best long-range snipers in the game, it would be a dream come true for the rookie. However, McCain admitted that he might lose his concentration if he gets a chance to play against the great Stephen Curry in the flesh.

In a candid nail-painting session cum post-draft interview, McCain was asked, “Is there one player that you’re gonna get a little starstruck by?”

Jared McCain replied, “Oh Curry for sure, Imma be way too hyped. Hopefully, I can focus during that game.”

Jared McCain names Stephen Curry as the one player that would leave him starstruck 🤩pic.twitter.com/Xz6wzw3je4

— What are (W)NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) June 29, 2024

Quite unsurprisingly, the elite shooter admires Stephen Curry the most, who has influenced a lot of upcoming hoopers of this generation. Barring injuries, he will have two chances to play against Curry during the 2024-25 Regular Season and it would be interesting to see how he reacts during those games. After all, the connection between Curry and McCain goes way back. 

Jared McCain has learned a lot from Stephen Curry 

Since McCain was a five-star recruit in his high school days, it isn’t surprising that he got an invite to a Curry Camp. In August 2022, the youngster got the chance to hoop against his favorite player and learn some valuable lessons. During a recent interview with The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, he opened up about a significant thing that Curry taught him during his camp.

McCain revealed, “I asked them[Stephen Curry], ‘How do you deal with going through a shooting slump? How do you deal with pressure in general?’ All he said was trust is work. That’s been a good mantra for me to just live by.”

These comments sum up the positive influence that the Curry camps are having on hoops aspirants. Playing alongside Stephen Curry and soaking in his knowledge is bound to pay dividends. McCain is also reaping the benefits of his learnings and his game-style does reflect the influence of his favorite superstar.