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On this day in 1996, Damon Stoudamire broke the rookie record for made 3-pointers in a season with 126. He would finish with 133 that season. That happened during a three-year period in which the NBA moved the 3-point line in to 22 feet. Thirty years later, Kon Knueppel has 243 3-pointers and counting. And 30 different rookies have surpassed Stoudamire’s number. And Kon beat that 133 mark in his first 38 games. Also, I’m pretty sure a bean burrito was like 60 cents back then. Inflation!
Bad trade already?
Did Morey sell low on McCain?
One of the more surprising trades at the deadline was the Philadelphia 76ers bailing on Jared McCain. Back in December 2024, the No. 16 pick out of Duke looked like he have run away with Rookie of the Year before he tore his meniscus. After a slow start to this season, as he worked his way back from preseason thumb surgery, the Sixers made a luxury-tax deal with the Thunder. Oklahoma City sent a 2026 first-round pick, a 2027 second-round pick and two 2028 second-round picks to Philly for McCain.
Since then, McCain has made the trade look foolish.Take a look at numbers he had with Philadelphia and what he’s done so far with OKC:
2024-25: 23 games, 25.7 minutes, 15.3 points, 46.0/38.3/87.5 splits, 58.9 true shooting
2025-26 (PHI): 37 games, 16.8 minutes, 6.6 points, 38.5/37.8/88.0 splits, 50.6 true shooting
2025-26 (OKC): 20 games, 19.5 minutes, 12.3 points, 46.7/43.9/86.2 splits, 62.0 true shooting
You may be asking why we would litigate this trade again. Well, McCain faced the Sixers last night and scored 13 points off the bench in a blowout win. Also, the numbers already show that he’s back to his scoring and shooting levels from his abbreviated rookie season. His scoring rate is actually above where he was in his brief rookie campaign, if we’re going by per minute.
Now let’s remember the news conference Daryl Morey had following the trade deadline. The 76ers’ president of basketball operations asserted after the trade: “I’m quite confident we were selling high on Jared McCain.”
That was a damning assessment by Morey, and it had many of us wondering just how badly McCain was injured. But then you look at what McCain is doing for the Thunder, as he bolsters what was already the deepest bench in the NBA. And he still has two more years on his rookie contract, so he’s a steal. McCain has been so good that often when he has hot stretches for the Thunder, I post a side-by-side of the Morey quote infographic and that sign in a club when James Harden was having a party. Just for giggles
How does this trade look less lopsided in the future? Well, the Sixers would have to nail this draft pick. It looks like it will be the Rockets’ pick, which is currently slotted as the 21st pick in the draft. McCain was the 16th pick in a bad draft, and this draft is supposed to be loaded with guys who can contribute.
Some recent 21st picks include: Will Riley, Yves Missi, Noah Clowney, Christian Braun, Keon Johnson and Tyrese Maxey. So that pick has some very good recent history. Of course, it’s also worth wondering just how good McCain will be in OKC’s program moving forward.
The story of this trade is not over yet, Tony Jones writes.
The last 24
🎤 State your case. Victor Wembanyama thinks he’s the MVP. So our Jared Weiss got him to debate the reasons why.
📈 Power Rankings! How close are the Lakers, Cavs and Nuggets to contender status? Law Murray will tell you!
🍀 Status report. How is Jayson Tatum’s return going? Our Jay King has a detailed look.
🤝 It’s a deal! The WNBA and its players officially agreed to a new CBA. Now that deal has been ratified unanimously.
💻 New post. Nuggets wing Spencer Jones wrote about what it’s like defending game-winners. He posted it on LinkedIn.
🪣 Cut Thomas. The Bucks decided to waive Cam Thomas with three weeks to go. Now two teams have waived him to tank.
Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!) and catch out-of-market games on League Pass.
Tanking Tuesday
Eight takeaways from March Madness so far
The first two rounds of the men’s NCAA Tournament are over, and we have so much we can take away from it. Two of the top three prospects in the draft are already out. A No. 1 seed was eliminated, and it happens to be the defending champs. And there was so much good basketball that can be a sign of things to come in the NBA. Here are eight takeaways from the first weekend of March Madness.
Bracket busted! 2026 BYU is no 2003 Syracuse: I thought it would be cool if AJ Dybantsa led BYU on a championship run and then declared for the draft like Carmelo Anthony did. Only this time, I’m assuming Dybantsa would go No. 1, not third like Melo. There doesn’t seem to be a LeBron James or Darko Miličić in this draft. You know who didn’t think it would be cool? The Texas Longhorns. Despite 35 points (11-of-25 shooting, 1-of-7 from 3 and 11-of-12 from the line) in 40 minutes from Dybantsa, BYU was sent home on Thursday. He’s still the guy. Unfortunately, that guy is done early.
Haliburton will never stop trolling: Iowa State knocked out Kentucky on Saturday in an 82-63 drubbing thanks to Tamin Lipsey’s very Tyrese Haliburton-esque 26-point, 10-assist effort. But it was Haliburton, a former Iowa State guard, who delivered the actual knockout blow.
Darius Acuff Jr. is a problem: Hey, speaking of John Calipari’s Arkansas! They’re in the Sweet 16 because Acuff is an absolute monster. He had 24 points and seven assists to take down Hawai’i, and then he shattered High Point’s Cinderella glass slipper with 36 points and six assists in the second round. He had 12 of the Razorbacks’ final 16 points to close it out. Nobody in this tournament can guard him.
Arizona’s frontcourt is no joke: Granted, their games were against Long Island and Utah State, but we still saw a great, physical effort from the big duo of Koa Peat and Motiejus Krivas. Against LIU, Peat had 15 points and seven boards, and Krivas had nine points, seven boards and four blocks. Against USU, Peat had 14 and 10 with Krivas putting up 11 and 14 with three blocks. They run into Arkansas next, so they’ll need to dominate the paint against Acuff.
Rick Pitino is inevitable: For the 13th time, the legendary coach has reached the Sweet 16, this time with St. John’s. Dylan Darling’s layup to beat Kansas was a big-time moment, and Pitino just keeps putting his guys in a position to succeed. But they get Duke next.
Darryn Peterson definitely played: Even though he was out after two rounds, Peterson played a lot of minutes in his two games, and he mostly performed well. In two games, he had 49 points on 16-of-39 from the field, 7-of-18 from deep and 10-of-12 from the line. He only sat for seven combined minutes between the two games.
Cameron Boozer might need to do this himself: Isaiah Evans is the only one of Boozer’s Duke teammates who had two successful games. He’s averaging 20.5 points, 12 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the two games. If his teammates won’t be consistent, he’ll need to take over and impose his will even more. That would be a fun run. He’ll definitely need it against St. John’s.
Read Sam Vecenie: My eighth takeaway is making sure you read Sam Vecenie’s awesome recap of the NBA talent in the tournament so far.
About last night
Pistons beat Lakers without Cade
Pistons 113, Lakers 110: No Cade Cunningham? No problem. Daniss Jenkins didn’t want the Lakers to get to 10 straight wins, so he dropped 30 on them, including the last six points to close it out. Luka Dončić had 32 points, but Detroit (52-19) is undefeated since Cunningham went down four games ago with a collapsed lung.
Thunder 123, 76ers 103: Chet Holmgren had 17 points, nine boards, four dimes and five blocks. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up 22 in 29 minutes. And the Thunder (57-15) won their 12th straight game. The big news: Jalen Williams is back.
Spurs 136, Heat 111: Wembanyama had 26 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and five blocks in 26 minutes. Dylan Harper and Keldon Johnson both had 21 points off the bench.
It was a massive night for the Dunk Tank! Let’s plunge!
Pacers 128, Magic 126: The Pacers broke their 16-game losing streak by denying Paolo Banchero (39 points) at the rim on the final possession. Pascal Siakam had 37 in the duel. Tank score for the Pacers: 10/10.
Hawks 146, Grizzlies 107: The Hawks had eight players in double figures, including four off the bench, as they demolished the Grizzlies. Tank score for the Grizzlies: 10/10.
Bulls 132, Rockets 124: The Bulls blew a 22-point lead but played flawless offense down the stretch to outduel Kevin Durant’s 40-piece. Houston (43-28) dropped to sixth place in the West. Tank score for the Bulls: 2/10.
Raptors 143, Jazz 127: This game was not even close to its final score. Utah put on a show with Ace Bailey getting 37, but four different Raptors starters scored in the 20s. Tank score for the Jazz: 9/10.
Warriors 137, Mavs 131 OT: Moses Moody had 23 points but appeared to suffer a bad knee injury. Cooper Flagg had 32 points and nine assists. Tank score for the Mavs: 8/10.
Blazers 134, Nets 99: Defensive specialist Toumani Camara scored 35 points for Portland. Tank score for the Nets: 10/10.
Clippers 129, Bucks 96: The 80-43 second and third quarter combined scores might have had something to do with this. Tank score for the Bucks: 10/10.