The Sixers had high expectations for VJ Edgecombe when they made him the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft, and he was even better than they expected during the preseason, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required). Edgecombe’s athleticism, defensive prowess and scoring were obvious at Baylor, but he has displayed an ability to serve as the primary ball-handler and run the offense even though scouts had concerns about his dribbling.
Pompey notes that coach Nick Nurse used Edgecombe as his lead guard in Friday’s preseason finale and he responded with 26 points, six rebounds, three assists and five steals in 34 minutes. He also created scoring opportunities for Tyrese Maxey, who Pompey points out hasn’t been paired with an accomplished play-maker since James Harden left.
“I think we thought, ‘OK, maybe he could play on the ball some,’ and we were talking about, ‘Let’s do it at Summer League,’” Nurse said. “But where we’re at, I think he’s way ahead of where we thought he might be, being able to do that.”
Edgecombe is part of a talented group of young guards in Philadelphia, alongside Maxey, Quentin Grimes and Jared McCain, but that doesn’t mean he’ll face a battle for playing time. Pompey expects him to be in the starting lineup when the Sixers open the season Wednesday at Boston.
“I know I worked hard to be in this position,” Edgecombe said. “If I wasn’t ready for it, I wouldn’t have been here. I feel as though I just have a lot of confidence. My teammates instill confidence in me also. So, I won’t say it’s easy, but it’s basketball at the end of the day. I’m trying not to overthink it. I love this game so much. … It just flows naturally, man. I’m just out there having fun.”
There’s more from Philadelphia:
- Paul George was a full participant at Sunday’s practice for the first time since undergoing offseason knee surgery, Pompey states in a separate story. George sat out the entire preseason, but there’s optimism that he’ll be ready to play soon. “He looked good,” Nurse said. “He’s moving good. He needs to have some more conditioning and things. But he looked good. He’s really pushing himself to get in shape. Defensively, he looked really good. He was really moving.”
- Joel Embiid also practiced without restrictions after making his first preseason appearance on Friday, Pompey adds. Trendon Watford, who’s dealing with a right hamstring issue, was limited to drills and five-on-zero work.
- Adem Bona‘s contract becomes fully guaranteed today at $1,955,377, notes Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Bona, who may be the team’s primary backup center, has a non-guaranteed $2.3MM salary for next season, along with a $2.5MM team option for 2027/28.