There are plenty of words one could use to describe Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe as a player. Hardworking, energetic, coachable. But if you could only use a single word, the most accurate would be: winner.
Edgecombe came up big in both ends of Philadelphia’s weekend back-to-back, making clutch plays to seal two more wins and bringing the Sixers to an impressive 6-1 to start the season — the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Despite the more proven talent the team added during the offseason, Edgecombe has not changed his approach. While every player must make some concessions for this new starting five to fit, Edgecombe’s approach has always been team-first, being both willing and able to make an impact any way he can, especially in clutch moments.
“He just does that,” Nick Nurse said Friday. “It’s really who he is. I think we all know it. We even talk about it, that he's going to make plays in the crunch time of the game. He makes a huge three, comes flying in for rebound, maybe blocks a shot like in the past and things like that. He really is a playmaker in crunch time, and he did it again tonight.”
Edgecombe made an impact on both ends in Friday’s win over New York, taking the lead defensive assignment against Knicks star Jalen Brunson and hitting a three that sealed the 98-93 win for Philly. The very next night, he performed similarly in Charlotte. With stellar defensive play down the stretch and another timely three to help seal the game, the Sixers walked away with a 109-104 win over the Hornets.
“To be honest, I owed the team that,” Edgecombe said Saturday. “I mean, I was having a rough game. Everything was short, missing a lot, getting beat defensively. So I owed the team that. I just tried to come down and just make a play.”
While only 21 and with little more than a year’s worth of NBA experience, Edgecombe is precociously driven. He’s jovial and honest, and there are many times you see his energetic inner child, whether he’s discussing playing alongside LeBron James or just how badly he felt he needed to see his shot fall. But all the while, that competitive fire is inside him, and it bleeds out as he plays.
While so many players of his pedigree are focused on volume scoring early in their careers, Edgecombe is far more concerned about consistently making an impact. That’s especially evident in how he values rebounding the ball, an often overlooked winning tendency.
His ability and passion for rebounding are rare for his size and reminiscent of Knicks guard Josh Hart, who proved vital in the team’s championship pursuit.
“I'm a guy that just does whatever I gotta do, especially to win. I'm on a team full of talent, obviously. That said I'm still finding my ways, but when everything clicks, I think I can average about eight rebounds just because of my team blocking out, me going to get the ball.”
Edgecombe has more offensive upside than Hart, but that only makes their similarities even more encouraging for Philadelphia. The passion and determination of a role player mixed with the skill and confidence of a star is the formula that defines Edgecombe as a player.
He’s only in his second season, but it’s clear the Sixers have a budding young star on their hands. Between the national attention Philadelphia has received this season and Edgecombe’s capacity for late-game heroics, it likely won’t be long before the rest of the league recognizes what the Sixers already know: VJ Edgecombe is a winner.
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