Dec 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain (20) in action against the Indiana Pacers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Jared McCain's rookie season is officially over, the Sixers confirmed in a statement on Thursday night.
"Jared McCain was reviewed today by the surgeon who performed surgery on his left knee on Dec. 17," they said.
"He is progressing well and will be out for the remainder of the 2024-25 season."
The team will provide further updates on his progress as appropriate.
In many ways, the writing had been on the wall for some time.
"We gotta try to keep things long-term. That's the most important perspective, right? How does this affect him going forward in his career, which we hope is many, many years, right?," Nick Nurse said at practice back in the middle of December, the day after it was revealed that McCain had suffered a torn lateral meniscus.
Those didn't sound like the words of a coach who expected his second best guard back in the lineup this season.
According to Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports, McCain underwent the suture procedure to repair the meniscus. But, if you cover the Sixers, you eventually earn an honorary degree in sports medicine. It just becomes part of the job. Even more so if the specialty is a meniscus injury. So, as we've come to learn, the suture repair entails stitching the torn meniscus back together.
It's rarely an option to begin with. Most meniscus tears will involve snipping out the torn piece.
The suture route has a longer road to recovery, but a better long-term prognosis than the snipping procedure does.
So, once you heard Nurse's words and learned that McCain and company elected the suture procedure, it was obvious where this was headed.
Nevertheless, you feel for McCain. He was the run-away favorite for Rookie of the Year. He had been on record about his desire to earn that notch under his belt. Caleb Martin said it best.
"It sucks, that's just how it goes sometimes," the Sixers wing said at that practice back in December.
For the Sixers, nothing really changes. Their needs were quite obvious in the aftermath of McCain's injury. No one was expecting him to walk onto that court any time soon.
It doesn't just hurt for McCain and the team. It hurts for the fans. McCain represented a beacon of hope for what the Sixers could be when everyone was healthy at the same time. He and Tyrese Maxey, together, sparked intrigue around what life post Joel Embiid and Paul George might look like. He was a reason to stay engaged while the team toiled through the first month-and-change of the season.
Now, all there is to do is focus on what lies ahead, for both McCain and the Sixers.
