BOSTON — The Philadelphia 76ers walked out of TD Garden with a 117-116 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday to begin the season. They received a big performance from their backcourt as Tyrese Maxey scored 40 points and rookie VJ Edgecombe dropped 34 in his NBA debut.

Edgecombe, especially, had a historic debut. He had 14 points in the first quarter–the most by a player in the opening quarter of his debut since LeBron James scored 12 in the first back in 2003. The 34 points are the third-most by a player making his debut in the history of the NBA behind only Frank Selvy and Wilt Chamberlain.

For a 20-year-old making his NBA debut in a building like TD Garden against a tough Celtics team was incredibly impressive. One has to have a lot of confidence to be able to do something like that in such a tough environment. Where does it come from? His time with Team Bahamas? His time in the gym? His teammates?

“I work on my shot,” Edgecombe explained. “I work every day. I work out every night. I work on certain things to get better every day. That’s where my confidence comes from. My teammates also instill confidence in me. It’s a different game when I’m playing with Team Bahamas. I don’t have Tyrese Maxey. I don’t have Joel Embiid, but Team Bahamas definitely helped me a lot. They helped me knowing I can be on the floor with certain players. I know I can play on the biggest stage. We were one game away form the Olympics, you know? The world’s biggest stage.”

Edgecombe has a maniacal work ethic as he is constantly in the gym putting in work on his game whether it’s thousands of reps shooting the ball or studying pick-and-roll film, he’s going to get it down. For being only 20, he is very mature and has a clear understanding of what it’s going to take to succeed in this league.

“So, yeah, that’s where my confidence comes from, but I work every day and all my life for moments like these,” Edgecombe added. “This is my dream. I prayed for this. I prayed to make it to the NBA and to stay in the NBA and that’s what it is.”

As mentioned above, Edgecombe is big on film. Whatever he watches and learns from, he immediately applies to his game. That’s a skill that will keep him around in the league for a long time. He continues to find a way to be effective and take steps forward, and those film sessions are helpful in that regard.

“I’m big on film,” he added. “I’m a visual learner, so if I get to see things a few times, once, twice, man, I’m able to apply it. I just like watching the game, to be honest. If I can watch anything—on YouTube, I’ll watch basketball. I just love basketball.”

Edgecombe will play in his first official home game on Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets.