PHILADELPHIA — The predraft process is often littered with rumor, innuendo and plain misinformation. That was particularly true in Philadelphia this summer.
And that was only natural. After all, the Sixers held the No. 3 selection in the 2025 NBA Draft, the first high lottery pick of Daryl Morey’s career as team president. And because we knew who the first two picks would be, the draft essentially started with Philly. What would the 76ers do?
Internally, for multiple reasons, VJ Edgecombe nudged ahead of the rest of the pack, long before Morey and his staff phoned in their selection of the combination guard on Wednesday night.
Off the floor, Edgecombe interviewed with poise and polish. He presented himself as a professional. He made the Sixers’ front office comfortable with betting on him. On the floor, in a tier of players who all came with a certain level of flaw, Edgecombe presented the Sixers with the best balance between a high-floor and high-ceiling outcome in the group of four or so players Philadelphia seriously considered. And in a backcourt that we could generously call defensively deficient last season, Edgecombe was the only player in that group who came ready to play on the defensive end of the floor.
“I hate to see other people score,” Edgecombe said. “I just hate it. I really hate it.”
The 76ers selected Edgecombe with the No. 3 pick of Wednesday’s draft precisely for that kind of competitiveness. They need a dynamic guard defensively. They need the elite level of athleticism that he brings. And you can count off names all you want — Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, Jared McCain — but the Sixers need to put more talent around Joel Embiid.
His defense and athletic ability figure to get him on the floor early in his professional career. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
Bouncing back from a 50-loss season is in the cards for the 76ers, in what could be a wild and wide-open Eastern Conference next season. The Indiana Pacers could take a step back without Tyrese Haliburton. The Boston Celtics have already taken multiple steps to dismantle the core that won them a championship. Teams are taking a gander at the landscape and concluding that the climb up the mountain is possible.
What the Sixers have done by selecting Edgecombe is make a dynamic backcourt more dynamic. Yes, they were awful last season. They got off to a terrible start, then they correctly concluded they needed to lose a lot in the second half of the season to retain a draft pick owed to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Edgecombe brings a dose of athleticism that comes around every few years. Think about the Thompson twins, Amen and Ausar. Edgecombe doesn’t have their physical size. But his explosion off the ground, his first step and his vertical explosion at the rim are comparable.
“I think we now have one of the best backcourts in the league,” Morey said. “When you look at some of these teams that are successful, they all have multiple guards.”
The downside to the backcourt they have created is a lack of size. Maxey and Edgecombe top out at 6-foot-4. McCain is generously listed at 6-3. But when you take the skill and the athleticism, the Sixers do have a deep and talented backcourt, especially if they retain Quentin Grimes, and especially if rising second-year lefty Justin Edwards takes a leap.
Embiid’s balky knee, which cost him most of last season, is still the key to whether Philadelphia can turn last season around. But the Sixers caught a good bit of lottery luck in retaining the first-round pick that originally was top-six protected. And then, they caught some good fortune in being able to move up a few spots.
A lot of what separated Edgecombe from the pack are the things that happened well before the predraft process. He showed extremely well for the Bahamas last summer in international basketball. And that is where you could see how a player of his athletic ability could thrive in the spacing of professional basketball. He showed resilience in his freshman season at Baylor, improving as the year progressed and turning himself into one of the better players in the Big 12 conference in January and February.
His defense and athletic ability figure to get him on the floor early in his professional career. That is the floor he provides at the No. 3 selection.
“I’m really focused on trying to shoot the ball at a high level,” Edgecombe said. “My job is going to be trying to release pressure on Joel, Paul (George) and Tyrese.”
What excites the Sixers is what Edgecombe could become. On Wednesday night, Morey said Edgecombe has All-Star upside. More than one prognosticator compares him to a young Victor Oladipo. If you squint really hard, you may see hints of a young Dwyane Wade.
To get to a star level, Edgecombe needs to hit on his swing skills. He’s currently not a great shooter. He’s someone who can make shots, and even important shots. But he’s more dangerous offensively at this point in transition. Secondly, his ballhandling has to improve. He’s good, but not yet dynamic, off the dribble. Wade and Oladipo were both very good off the bounce. Edgecombe has to get to that level to unlock his ceiling.
But that’s where Edgecombe the person comes in. He’s a competitive guy who, by all accounts, will come in and be a hard worker, and someone who will work to develop the weaker points of his game. And in that vein, he is coming into a veteran roster, players like George and Maxey, that he can lean on. Initially, he will play in summer leagues in Utah and Las Vegas. And then, for him and the Sixers, it will be a race to training camp and a new season.
“We’re super excited about VJ and that we got the chance to draft him,” Morey said. “He’s a dynamic athlete. We think he’s one of the best athletes in the draft. We think he has a chance to be a potential All-Star, and he’s going to be a two-way player coming into the league. He has a lot of winning qualities, and we think he is going to be a really good fit. We think he is going to be a great teammate.”
(Top photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)