It didn’t take long for Valdez ‘VJ’ Edgecombe to get going in his second matchup with Chavano ‘Buddy’ Hield and the Golden State Warriors this season.
The two Bahamians met on the hardwood in the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Tuesday, with the Philadelphia 76ers making their annual trip to the west coast. Edgecombe and the Sixers won, 113-94, against Hield and the Warriors at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, late Tuesday night, and now, the talented rookie will go on to face another Bahamian professional basketball player tonight.
The Sixers will face Bahamian DeAndre Ayton and the Los Angeles Lakers at [crypto.com](http://crypto.com) Arena in Los Angeles, California, tonight.
As for the game against the Warriors, Edgecombe and Hield went at each other quite a few times on the night, and for the most part, the 20-year-old rookie guard out of Baylor University won the matchups against the 10-year NBA veteran.
Edgecombe missed his first attempt from the field, but then went on to hit three of his next four shots. He had six points in the opening quarter, and a game-high 25 points to go along with seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals in 39 and a half minutes of playing time — the most on the team.
Edgecombe shot 11-for-20 from the field and was 2-for-7 from three-point range. This is the 12th time this season he has scored in excess of 20 points, and he’s averaging 15.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 42.7 percent from the floor and 36 percent from three-point range.
The first time Edgecombe faced Hield and the Warriors, back at the beginning of December, he had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists, and the Sixers won, 99-98, on a game-winning shot from Edgecombe with 0.9 seconds remaining.
Hield once again came off the bench, and had nine points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Warriors on Tuesday night. He shot 4-for-11 from the field and was 0-for-4 from three-point range. No player scored more than 13 points for the Warriors in the lopsided loss.
Hield is averaging 8.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists primarily in a reserved role for the Warriors this season, while shooting 43.3 percent from the floor and 34.4 percent from three-point range. He played 28 minutes in the loss on Tuesday.
As mentioned, Edgecombe struck for a game-high 25 points. Behind him, Trendon Watford had 16 off the bench, Kelly Oubre Jr. added 15, and all-star point guard Tyrese Maxey contributed 14. Four other players scored in double figures for the Sixers.
Edgecombe and the Sixers have a 29-21 win/loss record, sixth in the Eastern Conference of the NBA. The Warriors are eighth in the west with a 27-24 record.
Following their current five-game west trip, the Sixers will return home to Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to host the New York Knicks before breaking for the NBA All-Star Weekend. The Warriors will play the Phoenix Suns and Lakers on the road, before returning to Chase Center to host the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs before breaking for the all-star weekend.
Edgecombe will attend all-star weekend in Inglewood, California, taking part in the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars Challenge, featuring the league’s top rookies, sophomores, and some G-League talent.
Edgecombe is the 22nd player in Sixers franchise history, and the third Bahamian NBA player in the last decade, to be selected to play in the Rising Stars Challenge. Hield was selected in 2017 and 2018, while playing for the Sacramento Kings, and Ayton made the cut in 2019, while playing for the Suns.
The 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend will take place from February 13-15 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.