Philadelphia 76ers’ Jared McCain was hospitalized on Wednesday night after taking a hard fall during a pre-season game against the Brooklyn Nets.
During the fourth quarter, the rookie guard was driving to the basket and put up a floater which he missed. He then battled for the rebound with a pair Nets when he was knocked backwards and fell hard.
McCain landed on his back and then appeared to hit his head on the floor.
The referees whistled the play dead as the Nets broke up court with the ball and McCain writhed in pain.
After being attended to by team trainers, McCain was helped off the floor and then taken to a hospital.
Following the game, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse told reporters that McCain was struggling to breathe after the “rough” fall.
“It was rough,” Nurse told 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.”
Philadelphia guard Kelly Oubre said that he believed McCain was going to be fine after the scary moment on the court.
“He’s fine. It was very scary. He caught himself, luckily,” Oubre told Sports Illustrated. “He didn’t fall flat on his back. He’s gonna feel it tomorrow. That’s kinda what we were telling him. He’s just gotta kinda take it easy and make sure he’s 100% for opening night.”
McCain, who also was being evaluated for a concussion, finished the game with nine points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes before his injury.
Philadelphia selected McCain, 20, with the No. 16 overall pick of the draft this past June. The guard played his NCAA hoops at Duke, averaging 12.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game with the Blue Devils.
The 76ers play their final pre-season game on Friday against the Orlando Magic before opening their regular-season campaign on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks.