76er VJ Edgecombe Might Be the Most Overlooked Top-3 Pick in Years | Full Film Breakdown
VJ Edgecomb is already turning heads in summer league and it’s easy to see why the Sixers used the third overall pick to get him. He’s a dynamic two-way wing with elite athleticism and he’s showing flashes of the shot creation and defensive energy along with the motor that made him one of the most exciting prospects in the draft. Today, we’re breaking down the film to see how his game translates to the Philly system and why he might be ready to contribute sooner than expected. So, stick around. This could be the rise of a new fan favorite in Philly. kick out to none. Oh, slam bridge. Now, let’s kick this whole thing off by talking about how summer league has gone for VJ so far. And while overall he has had some highlights and some really good games, I think he dropped a darn near darn near triple double uh in a game where he had over 25 points, but he has struggled with efficiency so far. He’s only shooting, I believe, like 15% from three overall. He’s not shooting that well from the field in general. Uh, but he’s having moments and we’ll talk more about where some of these struggles might be coming for from, but he’s also showing you why he’s so exciting. He’s using his strength to blow past guys who are bigger than they were on the college level, probably a little more athletic than the average player that he saw. So, you know, it’s summer league. You take it with a grain of salt, but I did want to include it in this video because as you talk about him as a prospect, you have to evaluate what you see against borderline NBA level talent and in some cases uh other first round picks. So, I think it’s important to include it. Now, let’s talk about what got him to this point. When you take a look at his college stats, it’s not hard to see that he was an extremely productive player. Averaging 15 points a game and, you know, chipping in in other parts of it are highly impressive, especially on the major conference level. Was incredibly efficient, good free throw shooter, which translates well to the NBA and his ability to shoot there. All in all, a fantastic season. Now, when you start combing through the film on BJ Edgecomb from his time at Baylor, there’s a few things that stand out, but what jumps off the page at you the most and starts screaming NBA player is his elite level of athleticism. He is a menace in transition. He can pick uh lanes really well on defense, get steals, and go the other direction. But he’s just someone that that kind of has to scare you a bit if you’re a defensive player because if you’re standing around the rim and a shot goes up like he had multiple putback dunks last year that just uh wowed you that that really kind of got you excited for him and what he brings to the court. And you know that’s something you can’t teach is just his innate level of athleticism. Now that translated pretty well when you talk about him being a good dunker. He had 33 dunks last year. Uh really attacked the rim ferociously. But there are other parts of his game where, you know, it it doesn’t translate as much, and that’s getting to the rim and not dunking. He’s not an adept person at at being crafty around the rim, but I think that’s going to come with time as he has to rely a little less on this elite athleticism that he has. And you might be saying to yourself, well, cool, he’s a good athlete. There are loads of great athletes. What makes him worthy of the number three pick? You start talking about all the other things that he can do well. And for me, I’m a huge believer in VJ Edgecom as a shooter. So his numbers last year, they don’t jump off the page and wow you. Overall, he shot about 33 and 1/2, 34% from three overall, but when you start looking at his splits and where he was actually really effective, uh catch and shoot looks last year, he was about 36% overall. Uh but then you look at the difference between even those two. So when he was guarded on catch and shoot looks, and you know, it’s about a 30% clip. So, not great. On unguarded looks, he was all the way up to 46.7% caught 47% from three. That’s highly encouraging. Along with his high free throw percent from college, those are the type of indicators that make you think that this person can really grow a lot as a shooter with elite level training. And he has this ability to be able to be a really good knockdown shooter. Now, offensively, he also shows the ability to be a good pick and roll ball handler when with an ability to get downhill and finish at the rim. This ties into what I said about him not being great around the rim earlier. It It’s a weird situation where when he gets downhill fast and uses his strength and shields off defenders and goes up normally, it looks really good to me and looks super fluid and very strong. He has a tendency, however, to get off balance and and do weird things uh with the ball, with his body to avoid contact, and that’s when he really runs into some trouble. And you’ll even see on some of these makes, they don’t look all that great. However, I think overall, he has a handle that is competent enough to allow him to maneuver to where he wants to on the court. use that speed, strength, size combo he has to make life hard for defenders and not let them cheat his jump shot and and not close out like they need to. So overall, I think this gives you some room for him to grow as a player and definitely improve while having a good framework. Now, lastly, I want to highlight there are not many prospects that have the two-way potential that VJ has. So, when you look at his year last year at Baylor, he had 20 blocks and almost 70 steals. So, he finished the year with 87 steals plus blocks. That’s a huge number. And with someone with his length, size, and strength, he profiles as a wing stopper, as someone who you can put on the other team’s best player and really make life hard. Uh he really defended the pick and roll last year. Uh allowed an absurdly low field goal percentage in those situations. And that’s the type of thing where it starts to develop a floor for a prospect. And we’ll talk more about that later. But defensively, I feel like this could be the most translatable part of his game for sure along with his athleticism. And that makes him worthy of the top three pick right there. So what are my final thoughts on BJ Edgecomb? Well, I think from a overall fit perspective, you can’t ask for much better if you’re the Philadelphia 76ers, right? You have some pieces that are already established. Tyrese Maxi is already there. Joel Embiid, for all the drama that goes around with him, is already there as well. And you have some uh really promising young talent on that roster as well in McCain. So, I think he has the unique position to come in. The expectations aren’t going to be too high, but they’re still going to be healthy given that he was the number three pick. And I think he has the tools in his tool belt that’s going to allow him to capitalize on some of that. So, you talk about how is he going to make an impact in year one? Well, I think you you start simple and you say what translates the most and to me that’s defense number one. I think he’s going to be a exceptional defender from the get-go just given on the physical tools that he can rely on, right? So, that’s going to get him some minutes right off of the rip. Now, then you start to think about what else can he do? And and we talked about some of the stuff he can do with the ball in his hands, but I don’t think that’s necessarily uh what’s going to be the the first method of success for him. For me, it’s going to be as a floor spacing shooter that’s going to catch balls off kickouts, off other guys paint touches. So, I think he’s going to feed off of a Tyrese Maxi quite well. Uh, you know, and really be some of the gravity that Joel Embiid commands down low and he’s going to get some open looks. And we already talked about uh from our segment on his shooting that when he’s unguarded, his shooting percentage goes way up. So, that’s something that I think you’ll get more looks at. And that’s not abnormal. when I’ve done a lot of these other breakdowns and we talk about Dylan Harper who was in a a similar boat last year in college and on the college level they are number one with a bullet on the scouting report before every game that they play and that’s hard because the defense is is playing you differently but you go to the NBA level and you know they’re not they’re you know he might be the fourth or fifth guy on this scouting report that you are concerned about. He might be the first bench guard that you’re worried about if he doesn’t start. But, you know, it changes things. It changes how you approach the game. It changes how your perspective is on what you’re relied on to do. But, on the plus side, it just changes the amount of the level of opportunity you’re given because the defense isn’t as consciously trying to take things away from you. Now, a lot of people want to call this guy the steel of the draft and want to say VJ Edgecom was the steel of the draft. And and while I understand the sentiment and I agree that he is maybe slightly undervalued, he’s still the number three pick. So for me, I I can’t call him uh the steel of the draft. I do think that he is good. Everyone knows that he is good and that’s why he was a consensus top four guy coming into the draft. Um but I do like this landing spot as compared to others. And I think that he as a prospect is really interesting because he is the best two-way prospect in this draft. And I don’t think it’s quite that close. I mean, Cooper Flag is, you know, a different level of talent, so I’m I kind of exclude him from some of these lists, but outside of Cooper Flag, there’s no one that can offer what he does on both ends of the court. So, for that reason, if I’m a 76ers fan, I’m super happy. Uh, you know, doing cartwheels over this pick. I’m not worried about the summer league performance at all. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Summer league is summer league and and guys approach it differently and there’s really no way to correlate that to success. It’s like spring training in baseball. What’s going to happen kind of just happens there and and it doesn’t necessarily equate to a really good year the next year. But 76ers fans, it’s your time to let me know what you think. Please drop a comment below. Let me know where you thought I was spot on, where you thought I was wrong. I love to hear it. Love to talk with you guys in the comments. I just love talking basketball. mention this almost every video, but I I I played basketball in college. Uh I coach basketball now. I live and breathe the stuff. Love looking at film. If you have another player you want me to take a look at as well, please let me know. Uh I can look up most college or NBA players, but I appreciate all you guys being here with me on this one. I will have more of these out and covering the draft. Uh and those will come out over the next few weeks. Hope you stay tuned and uh subscribe if you want to see that content come out. But I’ll catch you guys on the next one. [Music]
VJ Edgecombe gets lost among the Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper Buzz — and it’s easy to see why they used the #3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft on this high-upside, two-way wing. In this full film breakdown, we analyze his Summer League performance, college production at Baylor, and his projected fit next to Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Jared McCain in the Sixers’ rotation.
From elite athleticism, lockdown defense, and flashes of shot creation, to surprising catch-and-shoot numbers and pick-and-roll handling, VJ Edgecombe may be one of the most NBA-ready rookies in this year’s class.
📈 Will he become the Sixers’ X-factor? Could he be the next great two-way wing in the NBA? Let’s break it all down.
📌 Chapters / Timestamps
0:00 – Sixers’ #3 Pick: Meet VJ Edgecombe
0:24 – Summer League highs & lows (25+ points, shooting struggles)
1:28 – Baylor breakout season: 15 PPG, high FT%, defensive stats
1:53 – Athleticism on display: transition play, putback dunks
3:02 – Shooting analysis: 46.7% unguarded threes, high upside
3:58 – Pick-and-roll potential & finishing through contact
4:59 – Defensive tools: 87 stocks (steals + blocks), wing stopper profile
5:42 – Fit in Philly: Spacing, defense, role with Maxey & Embiid
7:18 – Rookie expectations & floor as a role player
8:12 – “Steal of the Draft?” Evaluating value at #3
9:02 – Summer League doesn’t define rookies – here’s why
9:30 – Final thoughts: Why Sixers fans should be hyped
🔍 Key NBA & Sixers Keywords
VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers, 76ers rookie highlights, 2025 NBA Draft, NBA rookie analysis, Summer League recap, Sixers rotation 2025, NBA two-way wings, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Jared McCain, NBA rookie breakdown, Baylor basketball, NBA shooting prospects, NBA draft steals, NBA player development, NBA rookie rankings, Sixers film breakdown, NBA athletic prospects, Sixers draft analysis, NBA pick-and-roll breakdown, Sixers rookie projections, NBA defense highlights
🗣 Drop your thoughts in the comments – Is VJ Edgecombe the future face of the Sixers? How do you rate his NBA-ready skills?
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