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Like theater, V.J. Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey took turns going at each other in a game of one-on-one.
It was a matchup that took place during the first week of training camp, one where the rules were simple. One or the other makes the catch in the mid-post area. The shot clock, normally at 24 seconds in a real game, is shaved to five. And in those five seconds, you have to create as good a look for yourself as possible.
Edgecombe, the rookie from Baylor, hit a tough midrange pull-up. Then, he got to the bucket for a left-handed layup, high off the glass. Maxey, the all-star-level guard, used his speed to get to the rim. Then, he hit a turnaround jumper.
The game was competitive. It was physical. It was the definition of the phrase “iron sharpens iron.” And it was a game that carried some real basketball nutrition. One of the best skills you can have as an NBA player is the ability to get a shot off in tight quarters, with the clock bleeding away. Those are the shots in those moments that often produce champions.
“What I learned is that everyone is good at the NBA level,” Edgecombe said. “You learn about how good these players are. They’re good. They’re in the NBA for a reason. Everyone can hoop.”
When the Philadelphia 76ers step on the floor in Boston in two weeks to start their regular season, Edgecombe may or may not be in the starting lineup. A lot of that will depend on the status of Joel Embiid and Paul George. And a lot will depend on what kind of lineup combinations head coach Nick Nurse will want to put together over the course of 48 minutes.
What shouldn’t be up for much of a debate is whether or not Edgecombe, the No. 3 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, will play plenty of minutes for the Sixers. Or if he’s important to the Sixers in what is shaping up to be an important season. Or, if he’s actually ready to play and contribute at the NBA level. In what little we have seen of him through NBA Summer League, through that post-practice game of ones with Maxey, and through two preseason games against the New York Knicks, there isn’t much doubt about how high his ceiling is.
“I think he has as much or more upside as anyone in his draft class,” is how Sixers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. put it.
The loud parts of Edgecombe’s skill set are already apparent. In Game 1 against the Knicks in Abu Dhabi, Edgecombe tried to poster New York center Mitchell Robinson, and climbed high up the ladder to do it. In Game 2, he took a flare screen, attacking the basket and throwing down a one-handed dunk, and then staring down Knicks star Jalen Brunson.
3rd overall pick V.J. Edgecombe almost finished this incredible poster in his first preseason game. 👀
🎥 NBATV pic.twitter.com/RhMPolpfKw
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) October 3, 2025
People have talked about Edgecombe’s athleticism from his days at Long Island Lutheran Middle & High School, to his one season at Baylor, and now during his matriculation into the NBA. It shouldn’t be a shock to see that athleticism pop, even in the infancy of his pro career.
That being said, the parts of Edgecombe’s game that aren’t often discussed will get him onto the floor for this Sixers team. His ability to be a pick-and-roll ballhandler at this stage of his career is more advanced than advertised. His ability to make reads off the dribble is also advanced. Edgecombe can contribute this season by being active, finishing or starting plays in transition, and turning that activity into production. And his activity for a guard is one of his current superpowers. Even with some of his current flaws, he can find a way to make things happen and create positively. And that’s something the Sixers need. Last year’s roster didn’t have nearly enough athleticism. And Edgecombe is one of the most athletic players in his draft class.
“V.J. is a special talent,” Maxey said. “One of the things he does well is how hard he plays on both ends of the floor. He does the little things that a lot of players don’t do. The sky is the limit for him. He’s the kind of guy that likes to work out. He’s a good start to what we are trying to build.”
Rewind to summer league, in the sweltering confines of the University of Utah practice facility. Edgecombe goes through practice with the Sixers’ summer-league roster. Afterward, everyone on the roster gets their requisite shots up with the coaching staff. And then, after that, Edgecombe goes through another impromptu workout with development guru and Sixers assistant Rico Hines.
Two things stand out from that day. Edgecombe’s work ethic matches what league decision-makers thought of him in the pre-draft process, and it’s one of the reasons why he separated himself as the third-best prospect of the draft, behind Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper. Secondly, Edgecombe knows that his ability to shoot has to improve.
“That’s been my mindset,” Edgecombe said. “It’s a mentality thing for me, because I’m blessed to go out there and compete.”
His swing skills, which will determine how good he can be, are his shooting and ballhandling. He’s a decent shooter when he can stand still and catch-and-shoot, but anything on the move can be an adventure. He’s a good ballhandler, but the best guards in the league off the dribble are the ones who can get to spots off the bounce, even in traffic.
When Donovan Mitchell, for example, came into the NBA, he was a good ballhandler. By his fifth season, he had developed into one of the very best in the league. That, his shooting and his footwork are how Mitchell developed into one of the best offensive players in the league, even as the elite athleticism he had when he first entered the league has started to wane. Edgecombe can use Mitchell as an example of where he eventually wants to be. The challenge is to become as skilled and cerebral as possible, preferably while the elite athleticism is still present.
The spacing of the NBA should help Edgecombe, even while his jumper is a work in progress. It’s been hard, in professional settings, for defenders to keep Edgecombe away from the basket, because he’s so quick and explosive. And because he’s so competitive, Edgecombe hasn’t been deterred by any failure on a specific possession. He just keeps playing through.
It’s one of the reasons Philadelphia’s veterans have taken to Edgecombe. He came in, played hard and kept his head down. Having dynamic talent doesn’t hurt, of course, but Edgecombe seems to have a blue-collar side to him, too. Two weeks away from the start of the regular season, he’s become a popular figure on the roster.
“I like him a lot,” Embiid said. “I’ve talked to him a lot. He kind of reminds me of myself, being from another country and coming from hardships. So far, he’s an amazing kid. It’s been really good having him around.”
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Tony Jones is a Staff Writer at The Athletic covering the Philadelphia 76ers and the NBA. A native of the East Coast and a journalism brat as a child, he has an addiction to hip-hop music and pickup basketball, and his Twitter page has been used for occasional debates concerning Biggie and Tupac. Follow Tony on Twitter @Tjonesonthenba
