Former Duke basketball player officially ruled out for rest of NBA regular season amid Rookie of the Year campaign

Former Duke basketball player and current Philadelphia 76ers rookie Jared McCain has officially been ruled out for the rest of the regular season after undergoing surgery for a meniscus tear McCain endured in December.

McCain was drafted 16th overall by Philadelphia in the 2024 NBA Draft after spending one season at Duke where he averaged 14.3 points and 5 rebounds a game on 46.3% shooting from the field and 41.4% shooting from three point range.

The rookie took the NBA by storm after beginning to see significant minutes for the 76ers amid injuries to Sixers stars Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and Joel Embiid.

Coming into the season as a title contender, Philadelphia got off to a dreadful start to the regular season with these injuries, but McCain's play sparked light on the 76ers' season.

In 23 games played and 8 starts, McCain averaged 15.3 points on 46% shooting and 38.3% shooting from the perimeter. When bumped into the starting lineup, those numbers reached 18.2 points per game on 39.4% shooting from three point range.

McCain was becoming the runaway favorite for the NBA Rookie of the Year award, tallying 7 games of 20 points scored or more, the most among rookies. He also dropped 30 or more in 2 games.

It's an unfortunate blow for the rookie, as he came into the season not expected to see much time on an NBA floor with how stacked Philadelphia was on paper and the title aspirations the team had before the regular season got going, but injuries propelled McCain into the starting lineup, and he performed when he was there.

The Sixers have found a bit of a stride, winning 8 of the team's last 12 games after finding themselves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standing a quarter of the way through the season.

Now, Philadelphia will have to continue its playoff push without its sharpshooting rookie.