With NBA media days already jumping off and training camps set to open at the end of the month, the Philadelphia 76ers took the opportunity to announce they would bring back an old jersey design for the 2025-26 season. Among the promo images for the 76ers’ announcement was a photo of second-year guard Jared McCain with a backdrop of weights. A fan on social media took notice of the size of the weights and wondered aloud why McCain was seemingly using such a small size.

Jared McCain then seized the opportunity to post on social media in response to the 76ers promo photo with a video of himself pretending to struggle lifting an eight pound dumbbell, and letting the world know that he was working on progressing to heavier sizes.

Even before the 76ers selected McCain with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, he built a reputation for himself as being light-hearted and humorous. It appears as if that sense of humor is still with the young guard as he prepares for his second season in the NBA.

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Aside from his jokes, 76ers fans are certainly anticipating McCain’s return to the court. What was a very promising rookie season was cut short due to a torn meniscus and subsequent season-ending surgery. Prior to that, McCain was actually gaining steam early in the Rookie of the Year race.

During his rookie season, McCain appeared in 23 games, including eight starts, at a little over 25 minutes per game. He averaged 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists with splits of 46 percent shooting from the field, 38.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 87.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

McCain used a strong freshman year at Duke along with good pre-draft workouts to solidify himself as a surefire first round draft pick. With a healthy 76ers rotation, McCain is probably the first guard off the team’s bench. But he could see a larger role from the get-go with Paul George still recovering from a knee injury.