CAMDEN, N.J. — As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for the summer league to see what they have in their youngsters, they are convening at their practice facility to have “mini camp” which is, essentially, summer league practice.

The Sixers are looking to see what they have in their rookies and to see their second-year players take steps forward in their games. The big name everybody wants to see, however, is rookie VJ Edgecombe, who was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft.

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The Sixers want to put Edgecombe in the best position to succeed as well as experiment with him to see what else he can do. That means the ball is going to be in his hands a bit to run some offense in the summer league and he has impressed with his ability to run offense as well as play off the ball.

“I think, in general, he’s a smart player,” summer league coach TJ DiLeo said of Edgecombe. “He sees the floor well, and as you guys all know, he’s a threat to punch a gap at any time. So, defenses have to respect that. I think he can be a really good, like, pick guys, chase, stuff like that. I think we’re keeping it pretty simple for everybody right now. We want early attacks. We want all that and he’s done a tremendous job of that so far.”

Edgecombe already has the billing of being one of the more athletic players in his draft class. However, seeing it on tape and seeing it on the floor in person are two different things and fellow rookie Johni Broome has his own thoughts on his ability to get to the basket off the dribble.

“He’s a great payer, obviously,” said Broome. “He gets downhill whenever he wants to and he’s scary when he gets downhill. He’s very athletic. He’s a playmaker and he makes the guys around him better as well, and on the defensive end, he’s gonna pick you up and cause havoc.”

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Edgecombe will have a lot of eyes on him when the Sixers begin summer league on Saturday in Salt Lake City. That is especially so when considering he will be facing the Utah Jazz and rookie Ace Bailey who many projected as the third-best player in this draft.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Multiple Sixers impressed with rookie VJ Edgecombe in mini camp