Though he's only been a member of the Philadelphia 76ers for about six months, coming off the board with the third-overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, it feels like VJ Edgecombe has been in the NBA for half a decade, with the ex-Baylor Bear already averaging 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.4 steals over 35.6 minutes of action per game.
While Edgecombe has dazzled fans with his highlight reel dunks, his scrappy defense, and his willingness to do a little bit of everything from the guard position, if there's one area of his game that opposing teams don't 100 percent respect just yet, it's his outside shot.
Fortunately, Edgecombe is an incredibly confident player, almost to the point of “delusion” by his own statement, telling reporters after the team's win over the Washington Wizards that he knows he needs to become a knockdown shooter in order to really become one of the best of the best.
“I have the most confidence in the world. Sometimes I might be a little delusional, but I have the most confidence in the world. I swear, I think I can make the shots I see Tyrese be making. I work on, me and Rico, work on that every day since I got here. Um, all the mechanics, everything. As a kid, I always wanted to shoot the ball. And then I grew, and I wanted to dunk and jump and all that still,” Edgecombe explained.
“But yeah, I mean, it feels good to knock down shots. I mean, as a basketball player, you know, if people keep running under screens or just letting you shoot wide open shots, you know, that's going to kill your confidence. You don't want to play anymore. Especially me at 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5. It don't, I mean, that won't help me at all in any way.
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“So being able to shoot the ball is a big, huge thing in today's game. I'm not seven foot. I'm not 7-foot athletic, running dunk the whole time. No, I can't do that. I'm not 7-foot. But, I mean, I got to add an aspect to my game where, because I know, I want to be the best. I want to be the best, and the best can shoot. Can do everything on the floor. So yeah, I want to be, I want to be the best. So that's why I work so hard.”
Technically, Edgecombe might just be selling himself short as a shooter, as while his overall field goal percentage is slightly below the ideal 50 percent mark, his 2.2 made 3s on 5.9 attempts per game is good for a completion percentage of 38.2, which is well above league average. Edgecombe is averaging the third-most 3-point attempts per game among rookies behind only Kon Knueppel and Egor Dёmin, and when the rest of his game is factored in, it's quite hard to see just how quickly he's picked up the NBA game.
And the best part? If Edgecombe's own admission is correct, this might just be the floor of his potential as a player.
'𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥' 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐞 𝐕𝐉 𝐄𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐞
“I have the most confidence in the world. Sometimes, I might be a little delusional, but I have the most confidence in the world… I think I can make the shots I see Tyrese (Maxey) be making.”
“I want to be the best,… pic.twitter.com/pvKB7u9lTm
— 97.5 The Fanatic (@975TheFanatic) January 8, 2026