When it comes time for the Utah Jazz to make their first selection of the 2025 NBA Draft — the No. 5 overall pick — one of these three players will likely be available: [Tre Johnson](https://tre%20johnson%20among%20draft%20prospects%20who%20have%20worked%20out%20with%20jazz/) (Texas), [Ace Bailey](https://www.deseret.com/sports/2025/06/19/2025-nba-draft-ace-bailey-profile-utah-jazz/) (Rutgers) or VJ Edgecombe (Baylor).
So today we conclude with the final installment of a three-part series diving into what these players would offer as a prospect based on conversations with scouts, executives, coaches and my own evaluation.
### VJ Edgecombe — wing — 6′4″ (without shoes) — 6′7.5 wingspan
Of the three players who are a part of this series, Edgecombe is probably the most NBA ready and the most complete two-way player.
That’s not to say he’s the best of the three. He still has flaws and a lot of room to grow, it just means he would probably be the most ready for NBA play on Day 1.
**Strengths**
The things you’ll probably hear praised the most when it comes to Edgecombe are his athleticism and his ability in the open court, and those attributes absolutely deserve to be praised.
He is a transition highlight reel waiting to happen who can explode off either foot or from both, he has incredible hang time, he’s not afraid of contact or being contested at the rim and he is fast when he sees a transition opportunity.
When he’s playing in space, he’s smart, quick and has a great first step, but not only can those things change when playing against NBA players, there are also more important aspects of Edgecombe’s game that deserve highlighting.
Defensively, Edgecombe has shown that he can be good at the point of attack, on ball, off ball, in switches, in help rotations and in a zone.
There have been criticisms that he can become relaxed sometimes when he is off the ball, but it’s frankly impossible to find game film of any college player who is in perfect position with perfect awareness on every play of every game, and Edgecombe has enough of a portfolio of being an engaged defender that it seems bound to translate to the next level.
He’s also incredibly willing to admit his faults. Of the players I talked to at the NBA combine, he was the only one that offered up the areas of his game where he needs improvement without being asked.
That sort of self-awareness and humility is something that coaches love and bodes well for future development.
As a shooter, Edgecombe had a slow start to his lone season at Baylor, but in conference play — against better teams and defenses — he fared very well.
He finished the season averaging exactly 15 points per game on 43.6% shooting overall and 34% from distance, but in Big 12 play he averaged 16.7 points per game on 45.7% shooting overall and 39.1% from 3 on 4.8 3-point attempts per game.
In college Edgecombe was a much better spot-up shooter than he was off the dribble, but in the official drills at the NBA Combine he had a great showing in his shooting off the dribble, hitting 20 of 30 shots.
That said, he’s not someone who always needs the ball in his hands. He’s great at making quick swing decisions and operating as an off-ball player with cuts and slashes.
**Weaknesses**
While Edgecombe’s handle is not weak, he’s not a player you can expect to create his own shot. He is someone who is likely going to need a screen or some off-ball action in order to score.
The fact that he’s not much of a shot creator for himself and is probably not going to be an isolation scorer does have some people wondering if he has what it takes to be a star player versus a great role player.
Throughout high school and college, Edgecombe relied heavily on his strength and athleticism, which are absolutely positive attributes. But at the NBA level, he is not going to be the strongest, fastest and most athletic — not by a long shot — so there are definite questions about how he fits into the NBA when his most eye-popping skills are not his greatest strength anymore.
Though Edgecombe does have great touch and finesse around the rim, sometimes that comes with a huge lack of body control. He is so unafraid that he ends up in really weird positions and super off-balance.
If he could learn to be more controlled and deliberate then his finesse will be a huge asset, but he is going to need time to learn to be way less reckless on his drives and rebounds. If not, he could pose an injury risk to himself and others and could also end up out of position or just being inefficient.
In college, Edgecombe’s size wasn’t an issue and he was even able to defend in recovery situations against bigs, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to be a viable thing for him at the next level.
He’s not a traditional guard and he profiles as more of a wing, but at his size there is some worry that he’ll be a bit of a tweener.
As stated above, there has been ample criticism about his lack of focus at times as a defender off the ball, but I personally disagree with those assessments.
**Overall profile**
Edgecombe was highly touted throughout high school and was heavily recruited. Though the sample size is small, he seemed to only get better and learn to adapt to a lot of things in his season at Baylor.
The biggest question for a team drafting Edgecombe is probably going to be is if that team is going to be OK selecting a player that will be really good but maybe not rise up to greatness.
With the way the NBA is trending right now, it seems that dedicated, high-energy players who are effective on both ends but maybe not All-Stars are incredibly valuable and worth having, so this could be the perfect time for someone like Edgecombe to enter the league.