PHILADELPHIA -- Welcome to the NBA, VJ Edgecombe.
The Philadelphia 76ers star rookie burst onto the scene in his NBA debut, scoring 34 points to help lead Philly to a 118-117 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
Edgecombe scored 14 points in the first quarter of his NBA debut, breaking the previous record of 12 points by LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. His 34 points are the third-most scored by a rookie in his debut behind only Frank Selvy (35 points in 1954) and legend Wilt Chamberlain (43 points in 1959).
Edgecombe also set the 76ers franchise record for most points by a rookie in his NBA debut, surpassing Allen Iverson’s 30 points in his debut in 1996.
“I worked every day, and all my life, for moments like this. This is my dream,” Edgecombe said after the 76ers win. “I prayed for this. I always prayed to make it to the NBA and to stay in the NBA. Man, yeah, that was crazy. That surpassed my expectation, to be honest.
“It feels good to have my name mentioned with LeBron. I must say, it’s amazing. But hopefully [I’m] going to have a long career ahead of me. That’s what mattered most, man: longevity. Knowing LeBron has been there for 20-plus years. So I’m hoping I can do that one day,” he added.
Edgecombe, a 6-foot-5 guard, was drafted out of Baylor by the 76ers with the third overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft. The Bahamas native averaged 15 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 steals in 33 games in his lone collegiate season at Baylor.
The top 10 most points scored by a rookie in their NBA regular season debut are:
43 points scored by Wilt Chamberlain on Oct. 24, 1959
35 by Frank Selvy on Nov. 30, 1954
34 by VJ Edgecombe on Oct. 22, 2025
32 by John Drew on Oct. 18, 1974
32 by Maurice Stokes on Nov. 5, 1955
31 by Isiah Thomas on Oct. 30, 1981
30 by Lamar Odom on Nov. 2, 1999
30 by Allen Iverson on Nov. 1, 1996
30 by Willie Anderson on Nov. 5, 1988
30 by Dan Issel on Oct. 22, 1976
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