While he won’t be in action over the NBA’s All-Star weekend, Jared McCain earned a Rising Stars selection.
McCain is among the 21 NBA Rising Stars (10 rookies, 11 sophomores) chosen by NBA assistant coaches, the league announced Tuesday. There’s also seven G Leaguers in the player pool.
McCain has been ruled out for the season after undergoing surgery on a left lateral meniscus tear.
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Before his injury, he'd already become very valuable for the Sixers. The 20-year-old combo guard averaged 15.3 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds over 23 games. He shot 38.3 percent from three-point range and made multiple long-distance shots in 13 games.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse indicated Saturday that McCain will be with the team more as he progresses with his rehab.
“He really had to take care of himself, make sure that things were fine,” Nurse said before the Sixers’ win over the Bulls. “He has been around here in the last couple games, couple shootarounds. He’s been around more here recently, but he’s still not to a point where it’s easy for him to get around. So it doesn’t make any sense to continue to drag yourself out. … But as soon as he’s able to start walking a little bit, he’ll be around full time.”
This year’s NBA All-Star weekend events will be in Chase Center, the home of the Golden State Warriors.
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The Rising Stars competition will take place on Friday, Feb. 14 at 9 p.m. ET. The winning team will play in the NBA’s new All-Star mini-tournament on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET.