{"id":227131,"date":"2025-10-20T09:33:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T09:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/227131\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T09:33:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T09:33:07","slug":"vj-edgecombe-showing-why-sixers-think-they-got-a-steal-in-2025-nba-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/227131\/","title":{"rendered":"VJ Edgecombe showing why Sixers think they got a steal in 2025 NBA draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

VJ Edgecombe<\/a> can do even more than the 76ers<\/a> envisioned.<\/p>\n

So on Friday, they took the ball out of Tyrese Maxey<\/a>\u2019s hands and made Edgecombe the primary ballhandler in an exhibition game, even though dribbling was a supposed weakness for the rookie. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think we thought, \u2018OK, maybe he could play on the ball some,\u2019 and we were talking about, \u2018Let\u2019s do it at summer league,\u2019\u201d coach Nick Nurse<\/a> said after a 126-110 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the preseason finale. \u201cBut where we\u2019re at, I think he\u2019s way ahead of where we thought he might be, being able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00bb READ MORE: Sixers takeaways: Joel Embiid\u2019s versatility, VJ Edgecombe\u2019s development, and Tyrese Maxey\u2019s scoring<\/a><\/p>\n

Edgecombe\u2019s ability to bring the ball up the court created easy off-ball scoring opportunities for Maxey \u2014 ones he hadn\u2019t seen since he played alongside James Harden<\/a> two seasons ago. And it has people thinking that the Sixers may have found the perfect backcourt pairing for Maxey. <\/p>\n

Edgecombe finished the game with 26 points, one behind Maxey\u2019s game-high total. The third pick in June\u2019s NBA draft also had six rebounds, three assists, and a game-high five steals in 34 minutes. Eleven of his points came in the fourth quarter on 4-for-6 shooting. His final eight points came on a personal 8-0 run to put the game out of reach. <\/p>\n

He started the run with back-to-back rolls to the basket. Then the 20-year-old added a pair of foul shots. And after stealing the ball, Edgecombe scored on a running dunk to put the Sixers up 18 with 9 minutes, 8 seconds remaining. Having seen enough, Nurse subbed him out for good with 8:43 left. <\/p>\n

So what stood out the most to Edgecombe about his home debut?<\/p>\n

The five steals? Playing point guard? Scoring 11 fourth-quarter points?<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably the steals,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019d say just being in the lanes, getting as much deflections as I can, being in the right spot defensively. That\u2019s something I pride myself on. I wouldn\u2019t say stood out, but that\u2019s probably the best part.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00bb READ MORE: Can Nick Nurse work his magic to overcome the Sixers\u2019 injuries and lack of on-court chemistry?<\/a><\/p>\n

Edgecombe showed he was an athletic wing with elite defensive skills last season as a freshman at Baylor. <\/p>\n

He was a highlight waiting to happen during his lone college season. The 6-foot-4, 195-pounder was known for his scoring ability \u2014 especially in transition and at the rim. The Bahamian also possessed solid playmaking skills and defensive instincts.<\/p>\n

He averaged 15 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists last season. If there was a weakness, his struggles with shot creation stood out. The thought was that if Edgecombe developed a shot and worked on his ballhandling, he could be a solid NBA combo guard.<\/p>\n

But Maxey was far from surprised by Edgecombe\u2019s ability to handle the ball on Friday. He\u2019s been \u201cextremely\u201d impressed with his backcourt mate\u2019s comfort with the ball against NBA defenders. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe makes good decisions,\u201d Maxey said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t let people speed him up. I think he plays extremely mature for being a rookie. He\u2019s good. He\u2019s good at basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barring any setback, Edgecombe will remain in the starting lineup when the Sixers open the season Wednesday against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.<\/p>\n

\u00bb READ MORE: Sixers waive five players ahead of Monday\u2019s deadline to trim NBA opening-day rosters<\/a><\/p>\n

He\u2019ll be a part of a young backcourt rotation this season that will include Quentin Grimes and Jared McCain<\/a>, who\u2019s sidelined after right thumb surgery. And Edgecombe has lofty goals, which include winning Rookie of the Year, making the All-Defensive and All-Rookie teams, and helping the Sixers contend for a title.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I worked hard to be in this position,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I wasn\u2019t ready for it, I wouldn\u2019t have been here. I feel as though I just have a lot of confidence. My teammates instill confidence in me also. So, I won\u2019t say it\u2019s easy, but it\u2019s basketball at the end of the day. I\u2019m trying not to overthink it. <\/p>\n

\u201cI love this game so much. \u2026 It just flows naturally, man. I\u2019m just out there having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"VJ Edgecombe can do even more than the 76ers envisioned. So on Friday, they took the ball out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":227132,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,137443,85],"class_list":["post-227131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sixers-rookie-vj-edgecombe-nba-draft-steal-tyrese-maxey","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}