CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers will need rookie VJ Edgecombe to step in right away and produce to give this team what it needs in terms of ball-handling and speed from the perimeter. Selected with the No. 3 overall pick, Edgecombe has the skills to give this team a different look on the floor.
Edgecombe has the ability to put pressure on the rim with his lightning-quick first step and his athleticism. When the Sixers have him in the game, either on the ball or besides Tyrese Maxey, they are going to be in good shape.
With that being said, Edgecombe does have to improve his jumper. He shot 34% from deep in college, which is respectable, but then shot 2-for-12 from deep in the two summer league games he was able to play in. That led to him making some mechanical changes in his shot.
“I had a flat shot in college,” Edgecombe said at camp on Sunday. “Now, my arc is really good compared to where it was a month ago, three weeks ago, and just more consistent. It’s crazy that it’s now rare for me to shoot flat. Now I know when my shot is flat.”
Edgecombe is a maniacal worker as he just wants to be able to get better every single day–this should sound familiar to Sixers fans–but if he goes into his rookie season with some type of jumper, then that makes him that much more dangerous. There will not be many defenders in the league who will be able to stay in front of him as a rookie.
With that being said, one has to wonder what the process is of getting more arc on his jumper.
“Just getting it up, to be honest,” Edgecombe explained. “Keeping my elbows high and just getting it up. I tend to just shoot the ball quick, but now I’m more focused on it and I’m paying attention to more detail on my shots just so I can get better.”
The Sixers will face the New York Knicks in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.