Add Jared McCain to the list of active NBA players who have Filipino heritage.
The Philadelphia 76ers rookie confirmed that he has indeed some ties to the Philippines in a video published on ESPN.
"Shout out to my Asian community. [I'm] probably like 10% Filipino, but that counts," the 20-year-old revealed.
McCain will now be the third active player in the Association to possess a Filipino lineage, alongside former Sixth Man of the Year winner and Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson, and former second overall pick Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets.
A former Duke Blue Devil, McCain was selected 16th overall by the Sixers in the recent draft and emerged as the lone bright spot for an underperforming Philly squad this season.
Philadelphia is currently in 13th place in the East with a disappointing 3-13 win-loss record but the rise of McCain gave them a glimmer of hope of turning things around.
He worked his way up from becoming a benchwarmer to now starting alongside Tyrese Maxey. In 16 games, McCain averaged 16.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists, emerging as an early-season favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award.
The 6-foot-2 guard produced a career-best of scoring 20 or more points for seven straight games, including dropping a career-high 34 points in a 114-106 loss against the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
McCain was also part of the gold-winning Team USA squad who conquered the 2022 FIBA U-18 AmeriCup Championships
