Bahamian Valdez ‘VJ’ Edgecombe is in one of his best stretches of the National Basketball Association (NBA) season, erupting for 23 points on Sunday, but his team lost to their nemesis, the Boston Celtics, 114-98, at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Prior to Sunday’s game, the first three meetings between the Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers this season were decided by two points or less, and the Bahamian rookie guard was a factor, averaging 19 points per game over the first three.
He proved his worth again on Sunday, dropping in 23 on 8-for-21 shooting from the field in 40 minutes. He shot 5-for-11 from three point range, and added five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block, for an impressive all-around performance.
The 20-year-old rookie guard out of Baylor University has scored 20 or more points in three of his last four games and four of his last six. He is averaging 20.5 points per game over his last six games, and matched his second-highest scoring game over that span with 23 against the Celtics on Sunday.
Missing former all-stars Joel Embiid and Paul George, the Sixers faced an uphill challenge from the break.
They struggled defensively, particularly in the paint, were dominated on the boards, and couldn’t stop the Celtics’ three-point shooting. With the win, the Celtics remained at number two in the Eastern Conference of the NBA with a 40-20 win/loss record, going into their game against the Milwaukee Bucks last night. The Sixers remained sixth in the east, and fell to 33-27.
Edgecombe was consistent throughout, scoring 10 points in the first half, and dropping in 13 in the second half.
He helped the Sixers build a 10-point lead in the first quarter, but that lead was cut to just 28-26 after one.
The Celtics took charge in the second quarter. Midway through the second, the Celtics went on a 15-6 scoring run to take their first double-digit lead of the game at 51-41. They closed the first half up 62-50.
The Celtics opened up a 16-point lead before Edgecombe and the Sixers crept to within six, 89-83, at the end of three quarters. They got to within five points in the fourth before the Celtics pulled away for good, winning by 16.
Sixers’ all-star guard Tyrese Maxey led them in scoring on Sunday, dropping in a game-high 33 points, but shot just 12-for-34 from the field. Edgecombe added 23, Dominick Barlow scorted 14, and Andre Drummond was their only other player in double figures with 10.
Neemias Queta had a career-high 27 for the Celtics on 10-for-14 shooting from the field, and he added 17 rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Jaylen Brown also had 27 points and added eight rebounds and eight assists. Derrick White had 21, Baylor Scheierman contributed 12, and Nikola Vucevic had 11 off the bench.
For the season, Edgecombe is averaging 15.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 43 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from three-point range. He has appeared in 56 games for the Sixers, starting all 56 games, and finished the season series against the Celtics averaging 20 points in four games.
The number three overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft is third among all rookies in scoring, seventh in rebounding, tied for third in assists and he remains first in steals.
Edgecombe was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars Challenge — a game featuring the top rookies, second-year players and NBA G League players, over the NBA All-Star Weekend. He, Allen Iverson and Andre Iguodala are the only Sixers players to win MVP of the NBA Rising Stars Game.
Edgecombe and the Sixers will host the San Antonio Spurs at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, tonight. That game will get underway at 8 p.m.