McCain attended Centennial High School.[6] He was named the California Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior after averaging 16.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and four assists per game. During this time, he participated in three seasons of YouTube docuseries Believe, directed and filmed by Nick Ramos.[7] He was selected to play in the 2023 McDonald's All-American Boys Game during his senior year.[8] McCain averaged 17.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, four assists, and 1.5 steals per game for Centennial during the season and repeated as the California Gatorade Player of the Year.[9]
Recruiting
McCain was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the class of 2023, according to major recruiting services.[10][11] On March 18, 2022, he committed to playing college basketball for Duke over offers from Gonzaga, Kansas, and Houston.[12][13]
McCain enrolled at Duke University in June 2023.[14] He made his college basketball debut on November 6, 2023, scoring 8 points in 15 minutes in a 92–54 win against Dartmouth.[15] On January 17, 2024, McCain scored 21 points and 5 rebounds in a 72–71 win against Clemson.[16] On January 29, 2024, McCain earned Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) rookie of the week honors.[17] On February 17, 2024, McCain scored a career-high 35 points, tying Zion Williamson for the Duke freshman record, in a 76–67 victory against Florida State.[18] On February 19, 2024, McCain was named ACC Rookie of the week for the second consecutive time.[19] On March 24, 2024, McCain scored 30 points and 5 rebounds in a 93–55 win over James Madison.[20] On March 31, 2024, McCain scored 32 points in a 76–64 loss against NC State in the Elite 8 of the March Madness tournament. Over the course of his freshman year, McCain averaged 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.[21]
On April 13, 2024, McCain declared for the 2024 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.[22] He later received a green room invite.[23]
Professional career
Philadelphia 76ers (2024–present)
McCain was selected with the 16th overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2024 NBA draft.[24] On July 4, 2024, he signed a four-year contract with the Sixers.[25]
McCain made his NBA debut on October 23, 2024, in a 124–109 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.[26] On November 13, McCain put up a career-high 34 points and a career-high 10 assists in a 114–106 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.[27] He was announced as Rookie of the Month for November 2024 for the Eastern Conference, the first 76ers player since Ben Simmons in March 2018 to capture Rookie of the Month honors.[28] On December 14, it was announced that he had suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee and would not return to the court for an indefinite period of time.[29] On January 10, 2025, it was officially reported that McCain would miss the remainder of the season.[30]
On October 1, 2025, the 76ers announced that McCain had undergone surgery to repair a UCL tear in his right thumb, and would miss at least a month as a result.[31]
National team career
McCain played for the United States under-18 basketball team at the 2022 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship held in Tijuana, Mexico.[32] McCain appeared in all six games of the tournament, averaging 11.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, while shooting 41.5% from the field.[33]McCain and the rest of the U-18 USA basketball team won six straight games in their tournament in Mexico. They played against high-leveled competition but found themselves successful when matched up against teams from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Puerto Rico. These victories later carried their momentum to beat the rest of the 3 other teams such as Argentina, Mexico and Brazil in a knockout stage.[34] Not only did Jared McCain reach his goals of achieving a Gold Medal playing for the 2022 U-18 FIBA USA Basketball team but he also accomplished getting completely rostered on the 2023 USA Men's Junior National Select Team along with the 2023 USA Men's Nike Hoop Summit roster and lastly the 2023 McDonalds Mens All-American team.[35]
McCain gained recognition on social media platforms, particularly TikTok and YouTube, by posting basketball-related content, personal vlogs, and participating in trending dance challenges. His activity on these platforms throughout his years at Duke University and joining the Philadelphia 76ers contributed to his growth as an influencer.
A distinctive aspect of McCain's personal expression is his habit of painting his fingernails, which has led to partnerships with brands such as Sally Hansen. McCain continues to use his platform to promote self-expression and authenticity both on and off the court.[36]
Social Media
McCain aside from basketball, grew a steady influence on social media platforms such as, Youtube, TikTok, Instagram. Where he expresses himself singing, recreating dance videos and posting partnership ads. He initially started publishing videos on TikTok during the COVID-19 epidemic which allowed him to gain account to 250,000 followers[37].Overtime, the majority of his TikTok videos began to gain a lot of traction and attention as he started many trends that much of the youth took interest in. Because of this, many companies reached out to McCain for partnerships so that not only can he gain the benefits of earning commission but the company gains a new target audience to increase their market. His first ever collaborations with these companies began when entering his senior year at the age of 17. Champs sports had him as the newest headline for the newest nationwide fall performance apparel campaign. McCain closed his NIL deal with Champs and involved himself in photoshoots and video ads. Since McCain has such a big influence through his name and image, he's able to generate a source of profit through these elements on the familiar media apps like Tiktok and Instagram. This is also known as NIL (Name, Image, Likeness). Where student athletes like McCain are able to use their identities for commercial purposes.[38]McCain was one of the most popular collegiate athletes when he played for Duke with nearly three million followers on TikTok and 974,000 followers on Instagram. These numbers continue to increase as he tends to posts frequently on these platforms.[39]Additionally, one of McCains most viral clip traces back from March 17,2022 which was one day before making his decision to Duke University. In this clip users could see him and his mother(Jina McCain) dancing to a popular song from Willow Smith, " Wait a Minute". This video has over 20 million views with a current of 2.6 million likes.[40]
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