Paul George’s advice to 76ers rookie Jared McCain

Paul George is an experienced, established veteran with nearly a decade and a half of NBA experience under his belt. Jared McCain is a young, inexperienced rookie with a unique personality.

The two will be playing together in Philadelphia in 2024, and potentially beyond, so George shared some advice for his new teammate during a recent episode of his popular podcast.

"Just be authentic, man," George told McCain. We’re going to gravitate around you. You’re going to gravitate around us. What you’ll realize is that this isn’t college anymore where it’s 30 games. It’s 80 [expletive] 2 games, you know what I mean? Plus playoffs, plus preseason, it’s a long [expletive] year.

"So just be a sponge, man, just be yourself," he added. "Be a leader as well. Don’t look at just because you’re the youngest on the team or you’re a rookie that you can’t lead in the locker room, lead on the court, lead in practice."

McCain seemed to be soaking up the advice from George, and wisely so, as George has enjoyed a long, productive career in the league, and he's still going strong at 34. At least the Sixers think he is after signing him to a four-year, $212 contract over the offseason. George will immediately slide into a starting forward spot with the Sixers, and the hope is that he will be the final piece the team has been missing in its aggressive pursuit of a championship.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how much McCain will play as a rookie on a Sixers squad replete with veteran guards, including Kyle Lowry, Reggie Jackson, Eric Gordon and Kelly Oubre Jr. But even if he doesn't see the floor too much, McCain can still have an impact in the locker room by just being himself, as George suggested.

Follow Michael Kaskey-Blomain on X @therealmikekb.