MIAMI — The season is one of firsts for Philadelphia 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe. The No. 3 overall pick is experiencing life in the NBA for the first time and he’s trying to navigate it the best he can.

Playing in front of a ton of fellow Bahamians who made the trip to Miami to root for their countryman against the Heat on Monday night, Edgecombe had some great moments. He dazzled with a pull-up jumper in the paint, threw down a thunderous slam, and also showed off his emotions.

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Maybe the emotions were a bit too much. After being called for his third foul of the third quarter, Edgecombe argued with the officials and continued to say his peace until he was hit with a technical foul from official Tre Maddox.

“I mean, at the moment, it was heated,” Edgecombe explained after the 119-109 loss to the Heat. “I mean, I was mad, obviously. I didn’t agree with the call. I don’t think anybody agreed with the call, but, I mean, they’re doing their job. I messed up. It is what it is. I shouldn’t have gotten a tech. It changed the flow of the game kinda, especially for me, but it’s a learning lesson.”

It certainly is a lesson for him. At the time of the tech, the Heat were in the midst of a run and they continued to build on it after Edgecombe’s moment. Miami pushed the lead up to 15 in the third, and it derailed Edgecombe’s night a bit. Luckily for him, he’s on a veteran team who will teach him in moments such as this.

“Absolutely,” said star Paul George. “I’m probably the best to talk to. Early in my career, I had a lot of incidents and run ins and fines with the refs and so I tried to on multiple occasions, man, just stay focused. Stay locked in. I get it, though. It’s an emotional game, and officials got to understand that it’s an emotional game. So he’ll learn off that mistake. The best thing he can is just continue to build relationships with the officials, because he’s gonna be in this for a long time. He’ll get better.”

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Even during the moment, both Kyle Lowry and Trendon Watford ran to Edgecombe and gave him some advice as they were talking him through it. They wanted him to keep his focus on the game and being able to continue being impactful on the floor. That’s the important thing.

“Just keep my head and stay cool,” Edgecombe said on what the vets said to him. “Lotta emotions. Obviously, it’s an intense game. That was the main thing. Just keep my head, stay cool, and be ready to go back in the game.”

On the flip side, one could make the case that the officiating was questionable. Joel Embiid doesn’t believe Edgecombe needs advice. This stuff happens and life moves on.

“There’s no advice,” said Embiid. “I don’t think that was an emotional night for him. I don’t wanna blame the refs, but there’s a couple–I don’t know how to say it–but I didn’t think it was fair at times. So I’ll leave it at that. I mean, some of those calls, you know, the call on the screen, unfortunate. The offensive foul on the screen, for me, I think that would have put us up six. Big play right there, and then there’s so many other things that happened throughout the game where I just felt like it didn’t go both ways. Which is fine. We move on, but he’s gonna be fine.”

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers have advice for VJ Edgecombe on officiating after tech vs. Heat