CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers continue to be impressed with rookie guard VJ Edgecombe as he navigates his way through his maiden season in the NBA. The No. 3 overall pick is averaging 15.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists along with 1.3 steals while shooting 42.1% from the floor and 38.8% from deep.

Edgecombe is fully in the Rookie of the Year race and has the makings of a star in this league. He has a maniacal work ethic and he just understands how to play this game. He knows about the history of the game, how to play it, and how to contribute to winning.

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“One of the things I probably would attribute it to is, like, he knows the history of the game and stuff,” coach Nick Nurse said of Edgecombe. “He really, literally knows players from a long time ago that what they did. He’s watched and absorbed a lot of basketball. That’s probably always a big thing, right? Probably a little bit obsessively. Like, he loved it so much he had the bug and he just can’t get enough of it, right? So that’s one thing.”

What Edgecombe doesn’t know, he asks. He sees things before they happen and looks to the coaching staff to find an answer on how to counter anything the opposition does.

“I like to get in a lot of discussions on what he wants, what he sees, and what’s going on, and he asks a lot of questions that are probably down the line a bit, and I answer him a lot with ‘We’re getting to that. We’re getting to that.’” Nurse smiled. “That’s going to surface here as we continue to build things, but it’s good.”

Everything Edgecombe knows about basketball comes from the world of YouTube. He spends a ton of time watching the game and learning different things whether it’s high school, college, or the NBA, he is obsessed with the game.

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“I would say I really started really watching it, like, during—so, like 2018. From like 2017, 2018–I used to just be outside all day, to be honest,” Edgecombe explained. “So when I go home, I got a tablet. My mother finally got me a tablet. That’s when I started watching it. That was like 2018 when Tyrese (Maxey) and them were in high school, and then 2020 obviously, as the years go on, I just kept watching YouTube. I get to watching high school, college, NBA.”

Some players play this game because they are just gifted with that talent. They don’t necessarily love the game. Not Edgecombe. He loves basketball and lets it be known. That’s why his IQ of this game is so high.

“Definitely because I watch a lot of basketball, and I have a really good memory, too,” he finished. “My IQ definitely came from watching basketball, and now I’m just trying to continue growing, get better at it, try to be one of the best players in the league with the best IQ.”

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers highly impressed with rookie VJ Edgecombe’s basketball IQ