76ers rookie taken to hospital after hard fall

76ers rookie Jared McCain was taken to a hospital Wednesday night after he suffered a hard fall in the team's preseason game against the Nets.

According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps , McCain was taken to a medical facility to be evaluated for a concussion, among other things, after he appeared to experience breathlessness from the nasty fall. As seen in the video below, McCain coughed several times before being helped to his feet by the 76ers medical personnel. Luckily, McCain walked to the locker room on his own and did not need a stretcher.

McCain was unavailable to perform his postgame media obligations, but his head coach, Nick Nurse, provided an update on his health.

"It was rough," Nurse said, via ESPN. "He's going to the hospital to get checked out. Obviously, he was having trouble breathing there, maybe got the wind knocked out of him, not sure what was going on there, but never quite seen one like that before, so let's hope he's OK and see what the report is from the hospital."

Sixers wing Kelly Oubre Jr. felt his teammate was lucky not to "fall flat on his back" which may have worsened a possible head injury. Several replays showed that McCain hit his head and back sharply on the court at Wells Fargo Center. However, in a positive update via Keith Pompey of The Inquirer, Oubre confirmed that McCain was "fine" and still on track to play in the Sixers' opening game against the Bucks.

McCain averaged 12.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists through Philadelphia's first five preseason games . Notably, he knocked down 2.2 threes from 5.8 attempts per game, establishing himself as an NBA-ready shooter. Several scouts felt the Sixers were lucky when McCain fell to them at No. 16 in the 2024 NBA Draft after his stellar one-and-done season at Duke that saw him shoot 41 percent from three.

Many believe McCain has the tools to be Tyrese Maxey's long-term backcourt partner in a Sixers uniform.