The Philadelphia 76ers head into the National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season last week on a strong note, demolishing the Minnesota Timberwolves in their final preseason game, at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Friday night.
What a performance it was for Bahamian rookie sensation Valdez ‘VJ’ Edgecombe.
Edgecombe played a game-high 34 minutes, and finished 10-for-18 from the field and 2-for-6 from three-point range. He scored 26 points, grabbed six rebounds and collected five steals and three assists, helping the Sixers to an impressive 126-110 win. It was their first win in the preseason.
Edgecombe certainly made his case for a starting gig pairing with all-star guard Tyrese Maxey, who was great as well on Friday night with a game-high 27 points on 10-for-17 shooting, 3-for-8 from deep.
“It felt great,” said Edgecombe in the postgame press conference afterwards. “It was a lil shaky at first, playing off Joel, but I didn’t really think about it. We’ve been getting a lot of reps in practice, and it just started to flow naturally. I’m looking forward to getting out there as much as possible and doing what I can to help the team.”
Edgecombe started two of the Sixers’ big three in former league Most Valuable Player (MVP) in Joel Embiid and Maxey. The other member of the big three, Paul George, sat out, still recovering from left knee surgery in July. Embiid played 19 minutes and had 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting, 2-for-4 from deep. He added eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
Quentin Grimes had 22 points off the bench, on 7-for-13 shooting, 4-for-6 from deep for the Sixers.
Leonard Miller led the Timberwolves with 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field, 2-for-4 from three-point range. Jaylen Clark added 14 points, and Joan Beringer contributed 13.
Edgecombe said he’s just cherishing the moment, and looking forward to the start of the regular season.
“I know I worked hard to be in this position and I feel blessed to be in this position,” he said. “I just have a lot of confidence in myself, and my team. It’s basketball at the end of the day. You just can’t overthink it. I’m just out there having fun.”
Edgecombe scored 11 of his 26 points in the final quarter. His first points of the game came on a putback layup less than two minutes into the game, and he was a force on both ends ever since. Edgecombe said he was most pleased with what he was able to do defensively, collecting five steals.
“I just go out there and try to be in the right place defensively at all times — that’s something I pride myself about,” he said. “That (five steals) was probably the best part about my game tonight. There are always plays where you could get better, but overall, on the defensive end, it was great.”
Former league MVP and seven-time all-star Embiid was back on the court in NBA action for the first time in nearly eight months. He missed 63 games last year with various injuries, but showed what he could do when healthy with a strong performance on Friday night. The big man, who had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April, flirted with a triple-double in limited action on Friday night with 14 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
If the Sixers could remain healthy, there is a lot of promise for the 2025-2026 season. Their big three missed a combined 133 games last season, and they labored to a 25-58 win/loss record — 13th in the Eastern Conference of the NBA.
They were a lottery team and drafted Edgecombe with the third overall pick in June’s NBA Draft. Edgecombe averaged 15 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.1 steals per game in his lone season for the Baylor University Bears, and was one of the top players in college basketball.
Edgecombe is already proving that he could be a significant addition to the Sixers’ team this year, whether as a starter or a major contributor off the bench.
The Sixers will travel to the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, to play the Boston Celtics in their regular season opener. That game is slated for Wednesday, starting at 7:30 p.m.
There are high hopes for Edgecombe as the Sixers embark on the 2025-2026 NBA regular season.