CAMDEN, N.J. — VJ Edgecombe’s welcome to life in the NBA involved a training trip to Los Angeles hosted by Tyrese Maxey, the All-Star guard taking his new young charge to Disneyland.
“He made me wear some goofy hat,” Edgecombe recalled on Friday at 76ers media day, without specifying between “goofy” and “Goofy.”
His on-court welcome to the NBA moment was getting blindsided by an Andre Drummond screen in pickup runs before training camp opened Saturday, a headlong introduction to the rigors of the NBA via a 6-11, 280-pound center who has been in the NBA since Edgecombe was in elementary school.
Interspersed between the Edgecombe anecdotes at media day was effusive praise for the 76ers rookie guard, of his athleticism and his mentality. It’s the kind of appraisal you’d want to hear about a No. 3 overall pick who has the potential to help the 76ers both prop open a tightening championship window and be a long-term asset.
“He’s got a lot of really good qualities,” coach Nick Nurse said. “And one of the qualities he has is a really good engine or gas tank. And that means he’s able to put a lot of work in a day, come back and do it again, do it again, do it again. There’s not much wavering, if any at all, in his day-to-day work ethic.”
By the time draft night rolled around, Edgecombe appeared a no-brainer at No. 3.
Cooper Flagg was the generational No. 1. Dylan Harper was next with little debate. Whatever the perceived strikes against Ace Bailey in the pre-draft process, Edgecombe’s youth, athleticism and mindset seemed highly projectable.
And in his three months a member of the 76ers, he’s done little to dampen those hopes.
“VJ’s a special talent,” Maxey said. “I think one of his talents that a lot of players don’t really use is how hard he plays on both ends of the floor. Whether that’s offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding, guarding the ball, playing in transition, those are little things that a lot of people don’t do. So I think he’s going to be really good at that.”
“He’s an amazing kid so far,” Joel Embiid said. “It’s been good, having him around, talking to him, trying to help him. I feel like I’m at a stage in my career where obviously I know the job I have to do: I still have to be the guy, but I’m also at the stage where I can help a lot of these young players that are coming in.”
Before flattening him on screens, Drummond was immediately drawn to Edgecombe’s demeanor.
“The first day I saw VJ, I was instantly impressed, because the first thing he did, he just asked me a bunch of questions. Even asked me how my day was,” Drummond said. “Like, what do you think about this pick-and-roll? How do you feel about this?
“He’s a kid that wants to soak up knowledge, and he’s a gifted, gifted athlete, and he is very, very good. I think he’s going to be very good for us.”
The member of the 76ers with the longest history with Edgecombe is Eric Gordon.
The guards played together for the Bahamian national team in the summer of 2024 at the FIBA Men’s Olympic qualifying tournament, a team that included former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton and former 76er Buddy Hield. At 18, Edgecombe was one of the youngest on the team, prior to his solitary season at Baylor.
Gordon saw the potential immediately. He saw how Edgecombe ingratiated himself to an environment where he could learn from older players. Drummond sees it in his confidence of playing with older guys, the “grown-man experience” that international basketball brings.
“Everybody knows he’s an outstanding athlete,” Gordon said. “You see it. He’s one of the most athletically gifted players in our game right now, and he’ll showcase that. But for me, it’s all the little things. Shooting, because I think when he starts really knocking down shots, it’s going to open up doors for him to get in the lane as much as he wants.”
The 76ers hope to maximize his penchant as an information sponge by putting his locker next to Kyle Lowry’s. In his 20th NBA season, Lowry has seen it all, and he’s not afraid to tell people about it.
Lowry’s mentorship role is much of why the 76ers wanted to bring him back. He’s played that part for guys like Maxey and Jared McCain, and he’s ready to do the same for Edgecombe. It helps that the rookie is ready to hear the unvarnished truth from the guy who calls him, “Young Buck.”
“We have really good young guys, and they have this open happiness and this spirit and this pureness,” Lowry said. “They love basketball. They want to work. They get in the gym early. They listen to the coaches. They listen to the small advices I give to them.”
“I’m just excited to learn from someone that has so much experience within the game, someone that has so much knowledge,” Edgecombe said. “I just want to learn as much as I can. But he keeps it real at all times. So that’s the main thing. You just want someone that keeps it real with you. He’s not going to sugarcoat anything. So I respect it. I respect him a lot.”
Nurse wasn’t drawn on questions about roles for Edgecombe. He says he’s going to use him on the ball and off the ball, and Nurse seems in line with league-wide trends toward smaller lineups that could include three- and four-guard looks. A common lineup could be Paul George, a 3 all his life, at the 4.
The more important metric, Nurse said, is time. How many minutes can Edgecombe earn, and how can he navigate the peaks and valleys of life as a rookie?
Nurse sounds committed to letting Edgecombe learn on the court and play through the struggles. Edgecombe sounds driven to embrace the lessons his mistakes bring.
“I just go in with a mentality to win,” he said. “Whatever I have to showcase, I will do. But at the end of the day, my teammates, we’re all on the same team. We all have one goal, and that’s to win.”