Jared McCain called his shot.
The 76ers rookie, whom they drafted with the No. 16 overall pick this past summer out of Duke, screamed, “I’m the rookie of the year,” during the team’s 113-98 win over the Nets on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
“I’m in the flow state,” McCain said after the game. “I don’t now what came to my mind at that moment. I guess I said that. Yeah, I did say that. That’s pretty clear. It’s one of my goals for this season, obviously, but it’s just that competitiveness coming out of me.
“I respect every other rookie in this league, but obviously I’m gonna believe in myself. So yeah, some words definitely came out.”
McCain scored a team-high 30 points in the game along with five rebounds and three assists in Friday’s win.
For the season, McCain is averaging 16.5 points with 2.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game.
The 76ers have had a disastrous start to the season, entering Saturday next-to-last in the Eastern Conference with a 3-12 record.
Joel Embiid and Paul George’s injuries have stifled the 76ers, whose title contention plans have been ridiculed amid a brutal start to the year.
