Despite rumors of trading back in the first round, the Philadelphia 76ers stayed put Wednesday night and selected guard VJ Edgecombe out of Baylor with the third overall pick. It’s been quite a journey for the Sixers franchise, which had to wait until lottery night to see if they would even have a first-round pick at all. After moving up three spots to third overall in a two-player draft, rumors surfaced that the Sixers were interested in trading back or packaging the pick for a proven veteran.
Edgecombe joins a talented and now crowded Sixers backcourt that already features All-Star Tyrese Maxey, promising young rookie Jared McCain, and restricted free agent Quentin Grimes, all 25 years old or younger. There are questions about his fit and how much playing time he may ultimately receive, but the league just watched two guard-heavy teams, the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder, slug it out in the NBA Finals. Edgecombe should have no issues cracking Nick Nurse’s rotation, and if the injury bug hits the team like it did last season, there will be more than enough minutes to go around.
Edgecombe was born in Bimini, Bahamas, and lived there until his family immigrated when he was in ninth grade. The newest Philly guard reflected on his humble beginnings and his mother’s struggle after being drafted:
“The long nights… I lived off a generator for 7 years. I didn’t have electricity – I lived off a generator for 7 years. To see what she had to go through just to feed us? Crazy.”
Edgecombe has overcome incredible odds just to get drafted into the NBA. By all accounts, he is an incredibly hard worker, as evidenced by his transformation from a relatively unknown high school prospect just a few years ago to a top-three NBA draft pick. In that sense, he should make a perfect teammate for a gym rat like Maxey, who almost has to be locked out of the facilities because he refuses to leave.
Many draft experts believed that there was a significant drop-off in talent after the top two players, Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper. Sixers general manager Daryl Morey, however, believes that Edgecombe has all the tools necessary to be an NBA All-Star, although he mentioned some areas he would like to see improvement in:
“Being able to shoot off the move… I was speaking with Eric Gordon, who took this leap.” Morey said when asked about Edgecombe’s weaknesses. “He came in the league athletic, wasn’t a good finisher. VJ isn’t quite there yet, and recognizes it, but he has, like that, base athleticism, physical tools, and the work ethic that you see he could grow into all these things.”
The former Baylor Bear is a willing and effective defender, projecting to be more than capable at the professional level. The 6’5″ shooting guard has a nearly 40-inch vertical leap that he uses to contest and block shots when defending on the perimeter. Edgecombe averaged 15 points along with 3.2 assists and 5.6 rebounds in 32.7 minutes a game during his freshman season for the Bears. He was also a member of the Bahamas 2024 Olympic National Team, averaging 16.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in four games. His highlights from the Olympics against grown adults and NBA competition deserve a look.
Controversy swirled leading up to the NBA draft, as the player many scouts had projected to be the third overall pick, Rutgers’ Ace Bailey, declined to work out for several teams he did not want to play for. Many believed this would prevent the 76ers from drafting the forward sight unseen, not according to Morey, however:
“I put 0.0% stock into draft workouts” Morey said after the draft. “It’s very hard for me to figure out how you get anything out of a session. If you could put them in a competitive setting that might be something but that doesn’t happen with high picks”
Edgecombe, especially over Bailey, was my preferred outcome if the 76ers decided not to trade back in the draft. He figures to have a higher floor than many of the prospects drafted after him, and the Sixers have a history of developing guard talent to point to. He also figures to be the most effective player in the draft in the playoffs this season, if everything goes right and we see a healthy Joel Embiid. Many would have preferred a trade to receive an immediate playoff-ready player like Herb Jones, but Edgecombe offers flexibility both now and planning for the Embiid-less future.
Stay tuned for the article detailing Edgecombe’s inevitable injury or some as yet unseen sixers rookie disaster.
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