VJ Edgecombe had games of 38 and 35 points and an opportunity to launch 25 shots nightly in Philly’s 2-1 week.
VJ Edgecombe is looking more and more like a lock to appear on most voters’ Kia Rookie of the Year ballots.
But where, exactly?
The Philadelphia 76ers guard has impressed in a variety of ways: As a bonus scorer for the Sixers, as a willing defender and facilitator when the team’s big dogs such as Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid are owning the offense, and lately as the rookie tasked with shouldering the scoring load when Embiid, Maxey and Paul George have been absent.
Edgecombe had a memorable week, with games of 38 and 35 points and an opportunity to launch 25 shots nightly in Philadelphia’s 2-1 week. It was a resourceful, whatever-it-takes stretch for the 6-foot-4 Baylor product, by way of the Bahamas. Essentially, the same level of work Edgecombe has done since the season began.
His reward: Third rung on the Kia Rookie Ladder, same place he has spent most of 2025-26. Probably the same place he’ll land on most media reps’ ballots when they cast their ROY votes, too, behind the Charlotte Hornets’ Kon Knueppel and Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg in some order.
Fair or not, the race has turned into a two-man battle between former Duke teammates and pals. Flagg’s overall game after being drafted first overall last June made him a favorite heading into the season. Knueppel’s sometimes subtle, sweet-shooting and unexpected contributions to Charlotte’s improved record had him on Flagg’s heels until he edged ahead in Vegas odds and Ladder status a month or so ago.
That has left Edgecombe plugging along, even through flashy performances. It’s not a bad place to be, but rising to No. 1 or 2 would take heavy lifting and perhaps a swoon or injury to the guys in front of him.
The main reason is the law of averages. So much of the Class of 2025’s work already is in the books. Edgecombe over the Sixers’ final 10 games would need to average 39.1 points to reach Knueppel’s 19.1 average, never mind Flagg’s current 20.3.
And at 43.1%, Edgecombe’s field-goal percentage is well south of Knueppel’s (48.8) and Flagg’s (47.2). The volume shooting he’s had ot do on some recent nights argues against a high conversation rate built off only primo looks.
One area Edgecombe has an edge in is winning. The Sixers are 37-28 in the games he as played, better than Knueppel’s 37-33 and well in front of Flagg’s 19-41.
That won’t be enough to vault him over the two favorites but it’s a solid achievement. If Edgecombe does finish third, it will be one of the strongest thirds in recent ROY history.
Here is this week’s edition of the Kia Rookie Ladder:
Weekly recap
- Four rookies averaged more than 20 points in the latest sample, dating to March 17: Edgecombe (29.7 ppg), Utah’s Ace Baily (28 ppg), Sacramento’s Maxime Raynaud (26 ppg) and Flagg (22.3 ppg).
- Bailey blocked five shots against Philadelphia on Saturday, and Toronto’s Collin Murray-Boyle did it two nights later vs. Bailey’s Jazz. That tied them for most blocked shots this season by a rookie, matching the Sacramento Kings’ Dylan Cardwell and Phoenix Suns’ Khaman Maluach with five each. Heading into Wednesday’s games, the Hornets’ Ryan Kalkbrenner led the rookies with 84, followed by New Orleans Pelicans big man Derik Queen with 63 and Flagg’s 56.
- The rookie record, at least since blocks became an official stat in 1973? Manute Bol swatted 15 in a game for Washington in 1985-86. And the 7-foot-7 Dinka dunker had four more games that season of 10 blocks or more. He holds the record for most blocks in a rookie season (397), with David Robinson second (319) and Shaquille O’Neal third (286). Interestingly, those were career highs for Bol and O’Neal and Robinson only topped his rookie total when he swatted 320 as a sophomore.
- Ryan Nembhard’s 12 assists against Atlanta last week were the Dallas rookie’s fifth game of 10+ dimes this season. His 252 assists rank fourth behind Flagg (277), Queen (267) and Edgecombe (259), despite Nembhard playing 800-to-1,200 fewer minutes than any of them.
Storyline to watch
Numerators and denominators. No consistent formula is used by Rookie of the Year voters, meaning the eventual winner will be another apples vs. oranges choice. That likely pits traditional counting numbers against analytics and intangibles. Much like what was noted above about Edgecombe, flipping spots would take some doing, especially given Flagg’s and Knueppel’s body of work so far. For example, assuming Knueppel were to play all the Hornets’ remaining games, he would need to average about 27.8 ppg to reach Flagg’s current 20.3 scoring average. That’s a big number, despite being so seemingly close at 19.1. Meanwhile, Flagg could dial his accuracy up to Stephen Curry’s best levels (5.1 of 11.2 per game, 45.4% in 2015-16) and over what’s left of the schedule get only to 34.7%, well short of Knueppel’s rate.
(All stats through Tuesday, March 24)
1. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets
Season stats: 19 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.4 apg
Last Ladder: No. 1 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 4
Knueppel’s 3-point proficiency had some observers in recent months comparing him – or at least his ceiling for putting up huge single-season and career numbers – to Curry. But he might have more in common with Curry’s old Golden State splash-mate, Klay Thompson, for the amount of time the ball spends in their hands before scoring. (Here is a look at Knueppel’s “zero-dribble scoring.”) The Hornets’ rookie was nursing lower back pain heading into Tuesday’s home game vs Sacramento, but played 20 minutes in that game.
2. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
Season stats: 20.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 4.6 apg
Last Ladder: No. 2 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 1
Flagg bumped his numbers by averaging 22.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists over the past week. He had four steals and six blocks, too. But his 3-point range needs work over Dallas’ final 10 games. It’s a skill more likely to be enhanced over the summer and beyond, but with the Mavericks officially out of any postseason consideration, coach Jason Kidd might as well have Flagg let ‘er fly. He is making 28.8% this season, including a 2-for-12 skid in the past three games.
3. VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers
Season stats: 15.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4 apg
Last Ladder: No. 3 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 3
Allen Iverson was on hand as Edgecombe scored 35 points and sank seven 3-pointers, a combo no Sixers rookie ever has managed. He began the week’s sample with 38 points at Sacramento, 10 followed with 22 and 13 rebounds before the big night-in-vain against OKC Monday. Said coach Nick Nurse: “I loved his aggressiveness and comfortability with all the shots he took. I just thought he found them. I love that he took the amount of threes (15) that he took that were there. He had to take them. They were going under screens.”
4. Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs
Season stats: 11.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.8 apg
Last Ladder: No. 5 ⬆️
Draft pick: No. 2
Forty-eight rookies started games this season before Harper, the second player drafted, made his first start Saturday vs. Indiana. He responded with 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting, four rebounds, three assists, no turnovers and a plus-21 in 28 minutes as the Spurs won 134-119. Coach Mitch Johnson was pleased.
5. Maxime Raynaud, Sacramento Kings
Season stats: 11.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.3 apg
Last Ladder: No. 4 ⬇️
Draft pick: No. 42
Raynaud followed up his 32-point game against San Antonio with 30 against Philadelphia on Thursday and his 16th double-double (22-10) Sunday vs. Brooklyn. He also had some high praise for San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama and his all-around game this season.
The next 5
6. Ace Bailey, Utah Jazz
Season stats: 13.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.8 apg
Last Ladder: No. 7 ⬆️
Draft pick: No. 5
The Utah learning curve for Bailey continues to go well: he averaged 5.1 points on 32% shooting in his first eight NBA games vs. 22.8 points on 48.5% in his most recent eight. And coach Will Hardy said recently: “I think he’s grown more defensively than offensively.”
7. Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies
Season stats: 13.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.8 apg
Last Ladder: No. 6 ⬇️
Draft pick: No. 11
Coward had 15 points and seven boards in the Grizzlies’ victory over Denver last week, but it was his only appearance. He has missed Memphis’ past three games (personal reasons) and fell out of the Top 20 among rookies in games played (54).
8. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans
Season stats: 11.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.8 apg
Last Ladder: No. 8 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 13
Queen’s minutes have fallen off and with them, his stats – including his shooting accuracy (just 39.4% in March). But one area in which he has shared in New Orleans’ improved outcomes has been plus/minus. He’s averaging a plus-0.4 this month after being underwater all season.
9. Jeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans
Season stats: 13.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.2 apg
Last Ladder: No. 9 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 9
Just to be clear, Jeremy Fears – who had 16 assists in Michigan State’s victory over Louisville Saturday – is the older brother of the Pelicans’ point guard. Jeremiah Fears continues to help the Pelicans now that they have perked up (10-5 since Feb. 21).
10. Javon Small, Memphis Grizzlies
Season stats: 9.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.7 apg
Last Ladder: No. 10 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 48
Small missed Monday’s game with a sore back. He averaged 12.7 points and 5.3 rebounds this week. Since Feb. 1, he’s at 13.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 3.9 apg, while shooting 50/48/88.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
