Following a frightening fall on Wednesday, Philadelphia 76ers rookie Jared McCain was diagnosed with pulmonary contusions (bruising in the lungs). He has since been discharged from the hospital, and there is hope that he avoided a serious injury, according to Chris Haynes. McCain is scheduled for a concussion re-evaluation on Thursday.
The fall occurred with four minutes remaining in Philly’s 117-95 preseason victory over the Brooklyn Nets. McCain, who the Sixers took with the 16th overall pick in June, was attempting to rebound his own miss, but as he was airborne, his weight got too far behind him, and he went over backward, crashing against the floor in an extremely compromised position. Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse told reporters postgame that McCain had been taken to the hospital after having difficulty breathing.
“It was tough,” Nurse remarked. “He’s heading to the hospital for an evaluation. Clearly, he was struggling to breathe. Initially, I thought he might have just had the wind knocked out of him, but I’m not certain. I’ve never witnessed a fall quite like that one before. Let’s hope he’s alright, and we’ll await the hospital’s report.”
Philadelphia forward Kelly Oubre Jr., however, described McCain as “fine.”