Jared McCain was recently drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers as their 16th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Even though he’ll have to wait for a few more months to make his NBA debut, McCain is already a huge celebrity on social media. The 20-year-old boasts a massive following on Instagram. Paul George recently complimented the Sixers rookie on an episode of Podcast P with Paul George.
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The 34-year-old said that McCain would be able to navigate through the pressure of being a rookie in the league. The discussion about McCain started from a question about whether he would be able to handle his fame when he will be handed a minute of playing time in his initial days. He has amassed close to 1.3 million followers on Instagram, and there is a chance that when he does not get ample playing time, people will mock him for it. George said that he is confident about McCain’s ability to handle pressure.
He said that McCain has played at Duke and even though it’s not on the level of the NBA, there’s a lot of pressure on an athlete when they represent Duke. PG-13 said,
“He’s played at that level where he would get any type of scrutiny and that could affect him any type of way already. Personality stands out more than anything, he’s got a personality like, I’m me.”
McCain has been tested and is believed to be authentic by the nine-time All-Star, so he won’t be bothered in the league as well. The podcast panel also appreciated how open McCain is about his personality. They outlined the fact that he paints his nails and puts them on display for his followers.
So, if he didn’t worry about what people might say about him until now, chances are, he won’t start doing it when the stakes are high. In addition to that, McCain will also be busy living his dream in the NBA and he’s already prepared for it.
Jared McCain unveils the player that would leave him star-struck
It doesn’t matter how big a celebrity McCain is, at the end of the day, he is a student of the game first. So, even for him, there must be someone that holds a much higher star status. During his post-draft interview, he was asked if there was someone in the league who can leave him starstruck. The 20-year-old said that Stephen Curry is one person who can make him lose focus of the game. He said,
“Oh Curry for sure, Imma be way too hyped. Hopefully, I can focus during that game.”
McCain is a huge Curry fan and also names him as his favorite player. During a recent interview with The Ringer, he detailed what he learned from the Warriors superstar during his 2022 camp. McCain said,
“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.”
If he’s starting with such advice from Steph, the sky will be the only limit for McCain.
