PHILADELPHIA — On Wednesday morning, Kyle Lowry reached out to Jared McCain. He likes to check in with the Sixers rookie every day, but on this day, they had something more pressing to discuss. McCain had just undergone surgery on his left knee and would be out indefinitely.

Lowry knew how his teammate felt. In November 2006, when Lowry was a rookie point guard with the Memphis Grizzlies, he broke his wrist. It was a devastating blow for a team that went on to lose 60 games, and a player who had just come off his best outing of the season.

He wouldn’t play again until the next October. Lowry didn’t always travel with the Grizzlies, and because of that, he felt somewhat disconnected. But 18 years later, he saw this as an experience McCain could learn from.

“You just got to keep your head in it, and still be around the guys,” Lowry said. “Not being around, it gets a little lonely out there. You’ve got to make sure you’re staying part of this brotherhood that we create.

“[Without traveling] you miss out on a lot of things. And you can learn a lot by watching, too.”

By Wednesday afternoon, the rookie had already shared a postsurgery, anesthesia-laden TikTok update with his 4.4 million followers. Lowry, who is not on TikTok, and has no plans to join, was not surprised.

Since training camp, he has watched McCain, the 16th pick in the 2024 NBA draft, document the entirety of his first NBA season, from road trips to injury setbacks and everything in between. He teases him about it, but only from a place of love. Lowry says his job as a veteran is to give his pupil a bit of grief.

But unlike other rookies, McCain will give it back.

“When you get that old, and at Kyle’s age, he is just so old, he kind of drops knowledge on you at random times,” McCain said. “It’s really cool.”

McCain likes to focus on their age difference, above all else. Lowry, who is 38, was drafted in 2006. McCain, who is 20, was a baby at the time. He makes sure the veteran doesn’t forget it.

“I call him Unc Lowry,” McCain said. “Grandpa. Super vet. Super duper vet.”

Lowry has a nickname for his teammate, too.

“Pain in the ... ass,” he said.

Lowry has made his way into some of McCain’s videos, albeit begrudgingly. A few weeks ago, as the rookie sang along to “Rich Baby Daddy,” by Drake, the veteran found himself on camera.

“It wasn’t on purpose,” Lowry said. “I was just like, ‘What the hell is this TikTok? How do you do TikToks?’ And he just started doing one. And I was like, ‘Uh, OK, whatever.’ ”

Added McCain: “He kind of rapped to the lyrics. He was just being old. We’re making progress.”

All joking aside, Lowry has been a mentor to McCain since training camp. The young guard showed up to the Bahamas with painted nails and a youthful energy — two things the seasoned vet does not possess — but Lowry liked that he was “unapologetically himself.”

He started to give him advice. His first lesson was simple: Be ready for whatever role is thrown your way.

McCain listened, and was glad he did. Because of the Sixers’ rash of injuries early on, the rookie quickly went from a fringe rotation piece to a starter. He fared well. Over a 12-game stretch from Nov. 10 to Dec. 4, McCain averaged 22 points in 33.7 minutes a game.

Lowry decided it was time for lesson two.

“You got to use your voice on the court,” Lowry said. “A guy like him has got to lead. Say what you need to say and get your point across at all times. I know you’re a rookie, but be confident in yourself. Be vocal.”

“He told me you can’t just be a show-and-tell kind of guy,” McCain said. “You’ve got to be able to tell everybody where they’re supposed to go, know everybody’s spots, make reads on the fly.”

At Duke, McCain spent much of his time playing off the ball. But given the Sixers’ injury situation — and that Tyrese Maxey can’t play 48 minutes a night — the rookie was asked to run the offense at times.

Luckily for McCain, his teacher was one of the NBA’s best point guards over the last decade. From 2015 to 2020, Lowry made six straight All-Star appearances, averaging 18.5 points and 7.2 assists. Now, he’s helping a younger player find his voice.

“Sometimes when I’m out there on the court, and I’m the only point guard out there, it’s hard for me to kind of adjust to being a shooting guard or a point guard,” McCain said. “Knowing where everybody is at on the court, being able to talk, being vocal. I’ve just got to adjust and be a leader.”

McCain likes to think that he has taught Lowry some things, too — mainly about social media. When he first started vlogging his Sixers experience a few months ago, Lowry was unamused. The veteran point guard didn’t seem to grasp the concept — “He called it a diary,” McCain said — but over time, he became more curious.

“He started asking me about it off camera,” McCain said. “He was like, ‘What is this, what are you doing with it, when did it start?’ He’s interested in social media stuff, obviously. He knows about it.”

He paused, and added: “He’s not that old.”

McCain is grateful for Lowry’s mentorship. He watched the veteran’s film throughout high school and college. Lowry was always a player he admired, but he wasn’t sure how he’d be on a personal level.

“I was scared of him,” McCain said.

He’s not anymore.

“Coming into a new situation with the TikTok stuff, the social media stuff, I never know how people are going to view it,” McCain said. “Especially people I admire — and older people, like Kyle. Who is really old.

“But he’s been cool. He’s someone I’ve watched for a long time. Now that I’m actually getting to know him, he’s just a super fun dude. Just a cool dude who loves basketball, loves the game, and wants to teach it, as well.”

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