VJ Edgecombe adds strong postseason debut to long list of rookie feats, even if it was ‘a little wild’
“I was out there having fun. … If I’ve got to play wild for us to win, I’ll play wild,” said Edgecombe, who had 19 points and 11 rebounds in the victory over the Magic.
When informed that coach Nick Nurse characterized his offensive performance in Wednesday’s play-in tournament matchup against the Orlando Magic as “a little wild,” VJ Edgecombe broke into laughter.
Because it also felt that way in the moment for the 76ers rookie.
“I was ‘tweaking’ a little bit tonight,” Edgecombe said. “… I guess it happens when you let a kid play in such a high-intensity game.”
» READ MORE: Joel Embiid’s courtside seat, playoff physicality and more of what we learned from the Sixers’ Play-In Tournament win
Still, add a successful postseason debut to Edgecombe’s list of accomplishments throughout a terrific first NBA season. He totaled 19 points and 11 rebounds in the Sixers’ 109-97 victory at Xfinity Mobile Arena, helping propel his team to a first-round playoff series against the second-seeded Boston Celtics.
“I was able to settle in a little bit, calm down,” Edgecombe said. “… But I was out there having fun. … If I’ve got to play wild for us to win, I’ll play wild.”
Nurse said Edgecombe went “a little off-script” on a night when the 2025 third overall draft pick went 7 of 16 from the floor and committed four turnovers. All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey had to direct Edgecombe from the floor at times. And when veteran teammate Andre Drummond noticed Edgecombe’s “tough patch,” he encouraged Edgecombe from the bench to “do the little things, and the rest of the game will come to you.”
So Edgecombe still corralled rebounds against the physical Magic, proof that he paid attention to that detail during Tuesday’s film session. He also contributed stout perimeter defense, declaring, “I ain’t scared” even when going up against bigger-framed scorers such as Orlando’s Desmond Bane and Paolo Banchero.
» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey, superstar? The Sixers will need him to be to have any chance against the Celtics.
“I’m going to guard, regardless of who you [are],” Edgecombe said. “I’m going to try, and I ain’t scared. I ain’t going to back up if you’re running at me. You’re just going to have to run me over or something.”
Edgecombe oozed similar confidence while describing his collection of highlight plays.
Such as when he told himself to “get to the rim somehow” while handling the ball in the open floor in the first half and he spun into the conversion once he heard the whistle blow. Or when he got called for taunting in the second quarter after powering through Orlando’s Jalen Suggs for another finish, saying he tried to tell referee Tony Brothers that his momentum simply carried him forward, but Brothers “wasn’t buying it.”
Celtics lead 3-1
Game 1: Celtics 123, Sixers 91 | Murphy: Early offseason?
Game 2: Sixers 111, Celtics 97 | Murphy: Edgecombe steps up
Game 3: Celtics 108, Sixers 100 | Murphy: Reality of this series
Game 4: Celtics 128, Sixers 96 | Murphy: Maxey should be focus
Game 5: Sixers at Celtics, 7 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN
*Game 6: Celtics at Sixers, TBD Thursday
*Game 7: Sixers at Celtics, TBD Saturday
* If necessary
Or when, with the Sixers protecting a late lead, he took a fantastic bounce pass from Drummond, muscled it through Wendell Carter Jr., and flexed in celebration.
“You like that?” Edgecombe asked with a grin. “… Just try to go through his chest, make a good finish, and flex on them a little bit. You feel me?”
Nearly six months after Nurse expressed zero hesitation about immediately inserting Edgecombe into the starting lineup for a win-now team, the coach also was not worried about how the 20-year-old would handle the postseason environment.
He already had demonstrated an all-around game, averaging 16 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.4 steals in 75 regular-season games. He ranked 11th in the NBA in minutes played (35 per game), blowing past any previous workload. And he quickly built trust with teammates, who consistently praised his poise and fearless demeanor in big on-court moments — along with the desire to learn and take criticism while developing his craft.
“His effort and how hard he plays and the winning basketball plays that he makes,” Maxey said, “that’s what’s special about him.”
Added Paul George: “He just has so many intangibles that contribute [to] winning, so he’s built for the playoffs. The teams that succeed are full of those kinds of guys.”
» READ MORE: ‘I want us to go down in history’: Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe’s bond will shape the Sixers’ future
Next, Edgecombe returns to Boston, where this fantastic season began. He scored 34 points on opening night at TD Garden, a historic rookie debut in a Sixers victory. He scored another 23 points there — and turned heads when he accidentally hit a woman sitting courtside in the face while diving into the crowd — in a March 1 defeat.
The stakes will be much higher in the playoffs, of course. Nurse was pleased Edgecombe got this taste of the postseason “under his belt” before facing the Celtics, a legitimate championship contender that has welcomed All-NBA wing Jayson Tatum back into the mix after a ruptured right Achilles tendon suffered in last season’s playoffs.
Yet Edgecombe “couldn’t ask for a better” play-in experience. Even if it was a little wild.
“That’s the type of game I live for,” Edgecombe said. “You can be physical. The crowd’s involved. … I enjoyed every moment of it.”
