The Sixers will be without their No. 3 overall draft pick VJ Edgecombe for their Summer League contest on Thursday. Edgecombe has been diagnosed with a sprained thumb and will be re-evaluated Saturday.
Well, VJ Edgecombe really is a Philadephia 76er!
The Sixers’ No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft has been ruled out for Thursday night’s Summer League contest vs. the San Antonio Spurs in Las Vegas after being diagnosed with a thumb sprain, the team announced Wednesday night. He will be re-evaluated Saturday.
Edgecombe made an impressive Summer League debut this past Saturday against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City. The rookie put up 28 points on 13-for-27 field goal shooting with 10 rebounds, four assists, one steal and two blocks across 30 minutes. These summer games aren’t always the best representation of a player’s ability at a true NBA level, but the mechanics certainly looked good from Edgecombe last weekend.
On Tuesday night, however, a report from The Athletic’s Tony Jones ruled out Edgecombe for the Sixers’ second summer contest with a thumb contusion — information released five minutes before tipoff, in extremely on-brand Sixers’ fashion.
Sources: Philadelphia 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe is out tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a thumb contusion.
The injury is not considered serious. The organization is holding Edgecombe out in an abundance of caution. He will be day-to-day going forward
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) July 7, 2025
The report also said that Edgecombe was being held out “in an abundance of caution” and that the injury was not considered serious.
Fast forward to Wednesday evening and the team has now confirmed that Edgecombe was evaluated by a physician and diagnosed with a left thumb sprain. The Sixers’ also say that Edgecombe is participating in on-court workouts during his absence and is working closely with the team’s medical staff throughout. He is set to be reevaluated on Saturday.
In reality, this probably is out of an abundance of caution. It’s not even actual preseason yet, so there’s no need to push the rookie back out on the floor before he is ready. That being said, the Sixers’ track record with injury information hasn’t always been stellar, so the anxiety fans may feel in the pit of their stomach reading this report is understandable.
The rest of the Summer Sixers will face the Spurs on Thursday night at 10 p.m. EST.
Yes, 10 p.m. ET. Yuck.