Considering all the high profile moves Sixers did this season to surround their All-Star tandem with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid with greater star power, there was speculation that VJ EdgecombeGrowth and development will be de-prioritized.
But the second-year guard approached the season with a level of leadership and maturity that rubbed off on his seasoned veteran teammates, Chris Hine writes for the Philly Inquirer. After a whole week of playing with Edgecombe, a new teammate Jaylen Brown admired him as a player and a person.
“I already love VJ. This is one of my favorite people in the world and we just met” Brown said.
After LeBron James after signing with the team, Edgecombe showed his leadership by trying to start a group chat with the team’s starting five, although he felt it would be better to contact Maxey, who had a previous relationship with the legendary forward.
“I always say we got an eight year vet right out of the blocks with his composure and his demeanor“, head coach Nick Nurse said.
Edgecombe, for his part, knows — and appreciates — how much the team regards him as a thoughtful, mature person in the organization.
“I have men around me who treat me with a lot of respect and they listen to me so they don’t just shut me down” said Edgecombe.It’s just important that my voice is always heard because we live in a world where people try to devalue your voice and I won’t let that happen.”
We have more from across the Atlantic Division:
- The preseason debut took place on Tuesday Kawhi Leonardfirst game in a Predators in form since he won the Finals MVP trophy in 2019. He returned to Toronto against the Knicks’ bench players and immediately appeared to be in midseason form. Michael Grange writes for Sportsnet. He finished the game with 21 points on 12 shots in just 16 minutes, and he wasn’t just impressive offensively. “Defensively, my God, he looked great the way he played today“, he said Scotty Barnes. “Just activity, poking the ball, physicality. It was amazing.”
- The Networks selected as a top-10 point guard in the 2026 draft and spent most of the summer hyping up the second-year guard Yehor Deminbut his classmate Nolan Traore proved that in this team and in the backfield, he is anything but intended, Brian Lewis writes for the New York Post. The 20-year-old was the team’s third-leading scorer before Wednesday, behind only the veterans Julius Randle and Michael Porter Jrdespite the limited minutes. With the debut of the hyped rookie, his playing time will likely decrease even more Mikel Brown Jrwhich makes Traore’s production at that time all the more important. “He touches the paint almost every time he wants to. And he was very effective“, head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “I like his aggressiveness on the three and his shot looks very confident. Credit to the work he put in all summer. And just want to challenge him to improve the defense. There are only a couple of hiccups that he could have done better; but I know he’s tough and ready to take on the challenge.”
- Another young man Networks a bench player looking to make his mark is a fourth-year forward Noah Clowney. Clowney started 60 games last season, averaging 12.3 points and 4.1 rebounds, but Randle’s arrival put him back on the bench. Despite the demotion, he had a good pre-season, Lewis writesand showed Fernandez exactly what the coach was looking for. “So far he has been consistent. All of training camp, all of those preseason games. I am very proud of him” the Nets coach said.(We) challenge him. We challenge him to rebound. But still four passes for zero losses, that’s pretty impressive. He was just very good—not too high, not too low. He is always ready. And that’s the Noah Clowney we need because we know he’s going to win a lot is playing.”
