‘The universe guides me to just let it flow': Sixers' Jared McCain goes deep on his inner game 

Every game day, Jared McCain returns to the same passage of the same book.

“The rose analogy,” he told NBC Sports Philadelphia in an interview after the Sixers’ practice Tuesday.

The book is “The Inner Game of Tennis” by W. Timothy Gallwey. And McCain’s go-to snippet can be found on Page 25 of the 50th anniversary edition, published in 2024. 

Gallwey advocates for quieting “Self 1” — the frequently chattering, self-defeating “ego-mind” — and recognizing the potential of “Self 2,” the natural “doer.” He posits that “nonjudgemental awareness” of one’s own game improves performance. 

We don't criticize roses for being “rootless and stemless” or “immature and undeveloped” in the early stages of their lives, Gallwey notes. 

“I think it just always reminds me that I’m always in process,” McCain said. “I’m always working toward … not becoming a perfect human, but just being as close as I can to being a great person to everybody around me. And a rose is a rose from the time it is planted until the time it actually dies. I love that part.” 

‘All right, this is my little scripture’ 

Five years back, McCain was a freshman at Centennial High School in Corona, California. 

“The Inner Game of Tennis” changed his outlook on basketball. As he recalls, trainer Shea Frazee introduced him to the book and high school coach Josh Giles “reminded me about it.”

“I was in a little shooting slump,” McCain said. “I was a freshman on varsity so I was already a little nervous, and I read it before a game in Vegas. I read that part and then that game day, I hit seven or eight threes in the game. It was like a breakout game for myself. From then on, I was like, ‘All right, this is my little scripture I’m going to read.’” 

McCain’s gone on to refine a distinct game day routine.

“It’s kind of been consistent since high school … the journaling, the meditation, the watching film pregame,” he said. “I figured out what time I need to eat, what time I shower, listen to my music. I just get in the right mode.

“And the music, that brings me joy. I just love listening to music. I’ll go on TikTok and I’ll just chill, do what I do. And when it’s time to lock in, I know the scouting report and I’ve already done all my research.” 

There’s a ton to study now as a 20-year-old playing heavy NBA minutes for the shorthanded, 3-13 Sixers, but McCain’s inner game has shined. 

“I think just a level of (being) fearless,” Paul George said on Nov. 12. “He’s relentless, he’s confident. You don’t see a lot of these qualities in rookies that come in and are just ready. It’s impressive.” 

Through 16 games, the 2024 NBA draft’s 16th overall pick leads all rookies with 16.6 points per contest. He’s scored at least 18 points in nine consecutive games. McCain’s been a low-turnover, high-aggression player who’s shot 40 percent from three-point range. He’s at 93.6 percent from the foul line, where he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, shakes out his right arm and dribbles once before letting the ball go. 

Since focusing on the inner game, he’s seen many benefits beyond better shooting percentages. 

“I think a lot of it is now, when I go through a bad game or a bad slump, I’m more grateful that I was out there,” McCain said. “I don’t really have many bad feelings toward the game of basketball, I feel like. Obviously, I can do better on defense. I can make the rotation better. But when I step off the court, I’m Jared McCain. I’m not a basketball player. 

“So I’m going to look at it from a different perspective and just be like, ‘OK, I can make an adjustment here and here.’ But it’s hard. It’s definitely hard. I’m not perfect at it, but I think I have more gratitude in just being like, ‘Look, I had a bad game, but I had a bad game in the NBA. It’s going to happen. These are the best players, best defenders in the world.’ … It’s fun to have this challenge and I think every person in life is going to have challenges, so I’m glad that my challenge is I didn’t make a shot instead of something terrible that could happen, God forbid.”

Testing, no-sweat workouts 

Anyone you ask will laud McCain’s work ethic. He’s spent many, many hours on scoop layups, all sorts of mid-range jumpers, an ultra-rapid release on deep threes. 

McCain is also a fan of visualization workouts. When the Sixers didn’t have a typical morning shootaround Sunday ahead of their game vs. the Clippers, that’s where McCain turned. 

“I literally visualize everything that I do in a workout,” he said. “So (from) when I step on the court … I’m literally doing a dynamic stretch in my head. I’m doing the world’s greatest stretch, I’m doing scoops, I’m doing hamstring pulls. I get ready for a workout. I shoot my free throws, I shoot my form shots. And I’m doing all this in my head. 

“And when you’re doing it in your head, it’s way harder than people think. Your mind … I’ll be working out, and an airplane flies over and the (shadow) comes on the court — just the most random stuff could happen. So you’re really trying to focus, and it’s hard to. It’s actually something that’s harder than (physically) working out.

“But I think when you actually visualize each rep, you see the shot going in, your mind doesn’t know the difference between the real and the fake. It’s using the same muscles when you’re thinking about it. So that’s one thing I’ve been using since college. My psychologist put me onto that.” 

There’s plenty that McCain pictures related to game nights, too. 

“I visualize a shot going in, but I like to visualize the little things like coming to the locker room after a win or coming out of the game with a smile,” he said on Nov. 13. “Talking to Coach on the sideline … certain things that I know will help me be a better basketball player — like getting a hustle play. I just like to visualize certain things that may not be making a shot, but that might get me going to make a shot.

“I love visualizing everything. … I think visualization is a huge key for my life. I hope a lot of people try it out because it really does help, and I think it’s helped me get to where I’m at.”

McCain’s played around with the practices that help him attain, in Gallwey’s words, “the art of relaxed concentration.”

“I think it comes with experience,” he said. “It’s just trying it out with little things. When I was in high school, I’d try it with tests. And now, being here on the highest level, I’ve gotten pretty good at it. Meditation has helped me with that. Just being present on the court and just knowing what’s around me. Being aware of everything. You obviously hear people in the crowd, but you’re not accepting that they’re talking to you. You hear it, you know it’s there, but putting it to the side. 

“I’ve listened to meditation and it talks about how you think about (the mind as) a puppy running away. You kind of grab it and you bring it back. It could wander off again, but you just grab it and bring it back. It always knows its home, it always knows your body. Never getting like, ‘Oh, it’s everywhere and everything’ … and getting caught up in whatever’s going on in the crowd.” 

In a sport with so much swirling chaos, McCain believes in one of Gallwey’s core principles.

“Trust the process,” Gallwey writes, “and let it happen.” 

As far as specific in-game tools, McCain uses “box breathing.”

“You breathe in for four, hold for four, exhale for four and then hold for four,” he said. “And you rest your eyes on something, and that just brings your presence back.”

Ultimately, McCain doesn’t want his hunger for excellence to inhibit his performance.

“It’s tough,” he said, “because as a player who wants to be great, you unintentionally put expectations on yourself, pressure on yourself — because you want to be so good and you feel like you work hard to be good. … You’ve got to just bring yourself back. You’ve got to work hard, not put any pressure on yourself and just go out there and play. 

“I try to always reach the flow state. That’s why I always try to be present when I’m on the bench. I like to do … just simple box breathing when I’m on the court, (in) timeouts. During that time, your mind can wander, so I try to always just let my body go through it. 

“And I know the motion of shooting a shot. I know how to shoot a three, I know how to shoot a free throw. So just letting it happen. Don’t force anything. And I thank God, and the universe guides me to just let it flow.” 

Why McCain wants to flow 

The “flow state” is not mythical or nebulous for McCain. 

He’s gotten there in the NBA (and even yelled out, “I’m the Rookie of the Year!” after swishing a win-sealing jumper against the Nets).

“Man, it’s crazy because you still kind of don’t know how to describe it,” McCain said. “You’re just there. You’re just letting everything happen. Everything’s coming to you. And you kind of see everything, you feel like, in slow motion. You know what’s going on almost before it happens. You feel the dance. … Not that you’re moving through water, but you’re moving … almost like a ballerina. You just know the vibes of what’s going on and you’re so smooth. It’s a great feeling to be in.”

When McCain’s flowing, he’s smiling.

“The joy, that’s just myself,” he said. “I love to smile. I just love to have fun with life. I think, if you’re not having fun with life, there’s no reason to be doing this. If I’m not smiling out there, there’s no reason I should be out here. I think some people take life a little too seriously sometimes. This is supposed to be the most fun thing ever. We only get one shot at it and I’m just going to have as much fun as I can with it. 

“And since I’ve played basketball so long, I’ve always had fun doing it. I know it’s a serious game. I know we’re obviously trying to win and I’m going to do everything I can to win. And I’m competitive, too. But if I’m not having fun, then that’s when I know I need to step away from basketball.”

Besides the joy, what motivates McCain to be so competitive? 

He cites older brother Jayce as his “main drive every day.”

“He had blood clots in high school and wasn’t able to get the right college looks and experience,” McCain said. “And then he went to college at a D-II. The blood clots came back. He then stopped playing basketball to help me and went to Duke, and he’s a grad assistant there. So that’s my main reason why.

“It’s our goal. I do it for him, I do it for family. I want to be the best player I can possibly be and have no regrets. Being 6-2, people say it’s small … but I want to see how good I can get in this period of time in my life. See how great I can get by working as hard as I can and having no regrets with it. And we’ll just see from there.”

Playing the inner game, but not truly alone

Quite busy with basketball these days, McCain only reads about “The Inner Game of Tennis.”

He does not play or watch tennis, although he’s absolutely open to it. 

“I need to get into another sport,” he said. “I want to get into something I could play at a park or something random. I love soccer, but it’s hard to find just a soccer field randomly. Yeah, I would love to. … You’re the only person out there. There’s no team; everything is on you, the blame’s on you. You’re going to get judged on what you do. … I think that part of it’s cool, and that makes it really mental because you have to master that.”

To McCain, playing a team sport like basketball means that he feels support whenever “Self 1” intrudes and confidence doesn’t come so easily. 

“Especially when you have nerves,” he said. “It’s cool to be able to lean on somebody like Tyrese Maxey. That’s a neat person to lean on for anything. It’s nice to have someone out there and I think you can get into the game more gradually if you have other people. It’s not just right away you have to be on, on, on. You can gradually get into that flow state.”

From the jump, McCain’s been unabashedly authentic as a Sixer. He’s still making TikToks and YouTube videos and finding spots to have fun with teammates amid a lot of early-season losing. 

For now, however, he’s kept “The Inner Game of Tennis” to himself. 

“I do try to read it kind of secretive a little bit, just so no one says anything,” McCain said with a smile. “A lot of it I just try to bring with my energy, and I think it’s noticeable. Every day I just try to bring a smile to somebody’s face. If they want to talk about (the book), of course I’m always here. In college and high school, they always kind of knew my routine and knew who I am. 

“I just try to bring some joy everywhere I go, every day I step on the court.”