Jared McCain of the Philadelphia 76ers was running away with the 2024-25 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. As recently as last week, he was listed as a -450 favorite to take home the hardware, and there appeared to be little competition. But after the 20-year-old was ruled out indefinitely with an unfortunate knee injury, the competition is now wide open.
McCain Out, New Favorite For NBA ROY Award
McCain had been the lone bright spot for the 76ers so far this season. Philadelphia has been arguably the most disappointing team during the first quarter of the year, currently sitting with a 7-16 record and boasting the 2nd-worst offense in the league. The team’s two star players have been in and out of the lineup all season long, with Joel Embiid playing in just 6 contests, Paul George in 13. Even Tyrese Maxey has sat out 6 games.
The one player who had been the most consistent in both his availability and production had been McCain. His 15.3 point per game were the most among any rookie in the NBA, and his 38.3% clip from beyond the arc was the second-best of any first year player with more than 100 attempts. Not bad for a guy who was passed up by 15 different teams on Draft Night back in June.
McCain was the obvious front-runner for the Rookie of the Year award. Other players were having solid first seasons, but no one had matched the production of the 16th overall pick.
Breaking: Jared McCain is out indefinitely after an MRI revealed a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee, the team announced. pic.twitter.com/RFQDFiqGRV
— ESPN (@espn) December 14, 2024
He is off the betting board completely now. With no timetable for his return, listed as “out indefinitely” while he undergoes surgery on his torn meniscus, his hopes of being named the ROY are extinguished.
So who is the favorite now? San Antonio Spurs point guard Stephon Castle was listed at +450 before McCain’s injury, and his odds are now the shortest of any rookie at +125. The UConn product has an overall field goal percentage of just 38.6% and averages a mediocre 12.1 points per game. The second-best odds belong to Yves Missi at +250 (9.2 ppg), with Dalton Knecht (10.8 ppg) not far behind at +325. First overall pick Zaccharie Risacher is at #4 with +900 odds.
Unless the current top candidates up their scoring averages by 3–4 points, we will have the lowest-scoring Rookie of the Year winner since the 2016-17 season (Malcolm Brogdon, 10.2 points).
