As a result of a scary fall on Wednesday, Philadelphia 76ers rookie Jared McCain was diagnosed with pulmonary contusions (i.e. bruising in the lungs) but is home from the hospital, and there is optimism that he did not suffer a serious injury, according to Chris Haynes. McCain will reportedly be re-evaluated for a concussion 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.
You can see after the fall that the 20-year-old McCain was in a great deal of discomfort. He was holding his chest as he rolled over and appeared to be struggling to breathe. Here’s a closer look at the fall:
McCain remained down for several minutes before being helped off the floor. After the game, the Sixers said he was being evaluated by the team’s medical staff, including for a concussion.
“It was rough,” Nurse said. “He’s going to the hospital to get checked out. Obviously, he was having some trouble breathing, I thought maybe he got the wind knocked out of him. But not sure there. [I’ve] never quite seen [a fall] like that one before, so let’s hope he’s okay, and we’ll see what the report is from the hospital.”
Philadelphia forward Kelly Oubre Jr., however, described McCain as “fine.”
“It was very scary. He caught himself, luckily,” Oubre told reporters. “He didn’t fall flat on his back. He’s going to feel it tomorrow. That’s kind of what we were telling him. He just has to kind of take it easy. Make sure he’s 100% for opening night.”
