Sixers’ Jared McCain finishes seventh in NBA’s rookie of the year voting; Stephon Castle takes home award
In 23 games for the Sixers, McCain averaged 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, while shooting 46.5% from the field.
One can only imagine what would have happened if Jared McCain remained healthy.
Despite playing in just 23 games, the 76ers combination guard finished tied for seventh in the NBA’s rookie of the year voting that was released Tuesday. McCain was awarded a third-place vote from the media panel of 100 voters.
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San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle was the runaway winner of the award with Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher as the runner-up.
McCain suffered a torn meniscus in the Sixers’ Dec. 13 game against the Indiana Pacers before undergoing surgery four days later. After being reexamined on Jan. 9, it was determined that McCain would remain sidelined for the rest of the season.
Prior to the injury, he was the favorite to win the award.
McCain averaged 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. He also shot 46% from the field — including 38.3% from three. The California native joined Hall of Famer Allen Iverson as the only other Sixers rookie to average at least 15 points and two made three-pointers.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder made three or more three-pointers in eight consecutive games from Nov. 8-22 to set an NBA rookie record.
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In addition, McCain was named the Eastern Conference rookie of the month for games played in October/November. And he posted career highs of 34 points and 10 assists on Nov. 13 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The performance came during a stretch in which he scored 20-or-more points in seven consecutive games from Nov. 10-22.