VJ
Bahamian guard with the Philadelphia 76ers Valdez ‘VJ’ Edgecombe Jr. said he is looking forward to the 2026-2027 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. The Sixers will play the defending champions New York Knicks in their season opener at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on Tuesday October 20.
National Basketball Association (NBA) guard with the Philadelphia 76ers Valdez ‘VJ’ Edgecombe Jr. is entering his second year in the league, and expectations are higher this time around as the 2026-2027 season prepares to get underway.
Edgecombe is going into his sophomore season in the league and is returning to a team that looks quite different than it did a year ago.
This offseason, the Sixers added two former NBA Finals Most Valuable Players (MVPs) in LeBron James and Jaylen Brown.
The offseason moves almost instantly catapulted them into the title conversation in the league.
The Sixers first acquired 2024 NBA Finals MVP Brown from Atlantic Division rival, the Boston Celtics, in exchange for nine-time NBA All-Star Paul George and top draft picks.
James, who spent the last eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, made the decision to transition to the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ during free agency.
With NBA training camps set to begin in just under two weeks, Edgecombe spoke to reporters about the offseason acquisitions following The Bahamas’ win over Panama in round two of the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) World Cup Americas Qualifiers last month.
“I ain’t see him [LeBron James] yet, but we been on Facetime and stuff, we text,” he said. “He [is] cool and he’s excited. Obviously, I am excited, but I also think the team that we have and the team that was built, we are a really good team — one through 15, so I am just ready to go back to training camp and get ready for the season.”
While there is quite some optimism surrounding the Sixers for the upcoming NBA season, there have been some doubters.
Current NBA players, analysts and journalists have questioned if the Bimini native will have to take a backseat to the team’s newly-acquired stars and veterans.
However, if last season or, more recently, the FIBA World Cup Americas Qualifiers served as any indication, Edgecombe has proven he can adapt to any role.
During his rookie campaign, the Sixers guard averaged 16 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, while shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three-point range in 75 starts last season.
He ended the year third in the NBA Rookie of the Year race behind the Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg and the Charlotte Hornets’ Kon Knueppel.
Edgecombe got an even bigger role with The Bahamas’ senior men’s national basketball team this summer.
He was strong for the team, helping the group advance to round two of the qualifiers and improve to an even 4-4 win/loss record.
In three games played for Team Bahamas, the gifted NBA player averaged 23.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, while shooting 57.8 percent from the field and a scorching 57.1 percent from long range.
Edgecombe said getting those reps in with the national team will definitely help for the upcoming NBA season.
“It is gonna be obviously not the same, but kind of similar to the NBA flow, so just getting game reps, being ready to shoot, guarding and just doing my best,” he said in August.
The Sixers will look to break a 43-year NBA title drought this season and get back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2001.
The new-look Sixers will open the season against the New York Knicks, the 2025 NBA champions, on Tuesday, October 20 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The game is set to start at 7 p.m.