Sixers Get MORE PROOF They Crushed The 2025 NBA Draft As ESPN Praises VJ Edgecombe | 76ers Rumors

Sixers Get MORE PROOF They Crushed The 2025 NBA Draft As ESPN Praises VJ Edgecombe | 76ers Rumors

[Music] The VJ Edgecomb praise continues to pile in this off seasonason as the Sixers get even more proof that they crushed the 2025 NBA draft. this time from ESPN who recently ran a rookie survey where they pulled 20 anonymous NBA exec execs and scouts getting their thoughts, their opinions on the 2025 NBA draft class and they had some good things to say about the Sixers third overall pick. Before we get in to all of that, an update on our sub race here at Chat Sports between us here at 76ers now and the folks over at the Miami Heat Report, my good friend Nick Rolloloff. We’re trying to see who can get to 25,000 subscribers first. Both channels closing in on that mark, but it’s the Heat Report that have about an 800 subscriber lead on us right now and they’re getting dangerously close to that 25K number. So, we got some work to do, but I know Sixers fans, we can get it done. So, if you want Sixers news, rumors, analysis, coverage every single day, all year round, lock us in. Hit that sub button. I promise you, you will not regret it. So, this ESPN rookie survey that ESPN ran with NBA execs, execs, and scouts, this is exactly how that went down. ESPN’s Jeremy Woo surveyed 20 anonymous NBA executives and scouts asking for their thoughts on the incoming rookie class for the 2025 2026 season based on their evaluations and preliminary observations from this offseason summer league. Of course, participants cast their votes on five questions. Those five questions, five categories that the ESPN Rookie Survey covered are as follows. Rookie of the year. Of course, Evan wants to know who they think is going to win rookie of the year this season. But some interesting categories as well. Best pick, and this is besides Cooper Flag, as everyone’s going to say Flag is the best pick as a number one overall selection. So, the best pick in the draft outside of Cooper Flag, the biggest steel, the biggest reach, and then they also looked ahead to the 2026 NBA draft, who they think the number one pick will be in next year’s NBA draft. Now, out of these five categories, we’re going to zone in on one that really had to do with BJH is where all this praise comes from with the Sixers third overall pick. And it was this question right here. Which rookie outside of Cooper Flag will prove to be the best pick? Now, a lot of you probably would assume that Dylan Harper, the number two overall pick, would end up being the answer there, considering he was pretty widely believed to be the better prospect in VJ Edgecomb. And the execs and the scouts would think that he will end up being the better player and the better pick, but that was not the case. As you can see here with the results from these NBA executives and scouts, BJ Edgecomb actually won the race against Dylan Harper getting 10 of the 20 votes. Dylan Harper getting six. A few other players that we’ll talk about here in a second getting the remainder of the votes. But BG Edgecom outside of Cooper Flag according to these scouts will be the best pick in this draft at number three over someone like Dylan Harper at number two who again was pretty widely considered that number two overall prospect and number two overall pick. That tells you a lot, especially considering VJ only played two summer league games, so he didn’t get that much of a chance to show off what he can do. But I think and we’ll get into what NBA or what ESPN had to say about why these execs decided to vote for VJ Edgecomb, but I got to be pretty exciting if you’re a 76ers fan. Just to kind of see the early buzz that somebody like BJ is already getting despite the injury he had to deal with. And again, despite only playing two summer league games, already off to a pretty decent start in his NBA career. Can’t wait to see him get out there on the floor. I mentioned there was a couple other players that also got votes. Just want to give a quick shout out to those guys. Carter Bryant, Yang Hansen, Trey Johnson, Neat Clifford, Asa Newell, all guys that also got votes for the best pick. Of course, they they mentioned that there’s no exact criteria. So, could factor where these players got picked into that, but still BGHO the overwhelming favorite there with 10 of the 20 votes. Now, why did these exact decide to pick BGHO? So, here is from ESPN why VJO ended up being that pick for so many of these execs. With Flag, the overwhelming headliner of the 2025 draft class, we grew this question toward the rest of the group. As I mentioned, best pick was left open for interpretation intentionally. The goal was simply to find out which selections rival teams liked the most. The big winner here was Vijk who came off the board third to the 76ers and underscored his talent earlier this month with an outstanding 28point performance in his lone game at Utah summer league. The Baylor product is turning into a dynamic downhill slasher in the back court and many execs and scouts believe this is big. He has significant untapped upside operating with the ball in his hands after playing mostly away from it in college. That last part that these execs and these scouts are now starting to see some untapped potential in BJ Edgecomb to operate with the ball in his hands is absolutely huge. And we’ve seen that in the few minutes he has played in summer league. And this is why some of these college valuations when you look at prospects and you try to project what they’re going to do at the NBA level, it can be so difficult because sometimes they play certain roles in college and they don’t get to fully show off their skill set. So, it’s really up to that scouting department to really watch all of their tape, right? Not just pick and choose. Really get a a full feel for what the player can do. Even go back to high school tape if you have to and bring them into your building and and making sure that you know the kind of player you’re getting. There’s so much more than just, you know, watching some of these college games. And that’s why and the Sixers Sixers have done a good job of scouting over the past couple of years. they they really do a deep dive into these guys and now they’re seeing and they said at the beginning of summer league we want to see VJ with the ball in his hands more was pretty decent in a lot of those looks and he’s if he’s able to unlock that aspect of his game he could be very very good in fact that I’ve seen this quote circulating on Twitter over the past 24 hours or so there’s one Eastern Conference general manager who thinks VJ could be even better than a lot of us expect this season. One Eastern Conference GM on VJ. VJ might be Philly’s second best player by the end of this season when you factor in Joel Embiid’s uncertain health. He is that good and will thrive playing in Nick Nurse’s system. Second best player in his rookie year by the end of it. That is some high high praise for VJ Edgecom, but it’s not completely unbelievable. Am I going to project that he’ll be this team’s second best player? Not factoring in Joel Embiid, of course, by the end of the season. No, I’m not going to project that. Look, you have Embiid, you have Maxi, but even if you don’t factor in Embiid, Maxi, of course, is gonna be better than VJ Edgecomb, right? But is it crazy to think that VJ could end up making a bet a bigger impact than Paul George if Paul George does doesn’t have a bounceback season? It’s not the craziest thing to believe someone like a Quinton Grimes, a Jared McCain, a Kelly Ubé. Like it’s not the craziest thing to think that if everything does click for VJ considering what he already has in his bag with his athleticism, his defensive capabilities, combined with this potential untapped upside he has to play on the ball, I’ve I’ve heard crazier things than possibly he can have a huge breakout year and be very very good in his rookie season. But I don’t want you to expect that and put all this pressure on him. At the end of the day, he is just a rookie. But he does have the tools, as I mentioned, with the athleticism, with the skills he’s already been able to show on the defensive end of the ball. That was his calling card coming out of college, right? He’s got a great feel for the game, I’ve noticed, in watching him in college and the summer league as well. Just a high basketball IQ, knows how to play the game the right way. Also, I thought, did a great job getting to his spots even if he’s not always knocking down that mid-range jumper. He’s able to get where he wants. He knows where he wants to be. and the angles he can get different shots up. Just a smart smart player with the ball in his hands as I mentioned. Always playing with an edge, always playing with a tenacity. Even in summer league, playing with that chip on his shoulder mentality despite being the third overall pick. Now, that’s not to say doesn’t have areas to improve. Because of course, if you want to reach that upper echelon level, you got to be able to improve in those areas that can really change a player from being a high-end starter to a true allstar superstar level kind of guy. And it’s really these five areas for most players, but for VJ Edgecom as well in particular, where if he can improve in these five areas, that can take him from good to really good to great, maybe even elite one day. starts with the outside shooting. Didn’t really show off a great three-point shot in summer league, but the form looks good and he has shown an ability at times to knock these shots down. So, once he adjusts to that NBA three-point line, can he be a 37 plus percent three-point shooter? That would take his game to a whole new level. The self the selfshot creation, as I mentioned, we saw some of that in summer league in flashes, but didn’t see it a whole lot at Baylor. Doesn’t mean he can’t do it. He just didn’t really wasn’t really his role at the time. So, can we see that start to emerge? The ball handling does have to get better. It’s a little bit shaky. Again, a young player, especially that left hand, he’s got to get better there, but I think that’s something that you can develop creating for others. This is something that he doesn’t necessarily need to get in his bag. But if he does become a highlevel playmaker as well, these just things that you keep stacking these skill sets on top of one another, then it’s like, well, how high really is a ceiling for someone like BJ, the rim finishing has to get better. This is the one thing that that I think like really does need to improve outside of the outside shooting. Such a good athlete. He can get to the rim and he can dunk on you, of course, but just not a great finisher at the moment. um needs to get stronger, fighting through contact, being a little more creative, different ways to finish and just at the end of the day just finish at a higher percentage, right? But I think that’s something that will improve as well. Already very skilled at getting there, has the athleticism, just a little bit better touch, I think, and uh he can really excel when he’s attacking the rim and use that athleticism that he does have. say this man, if EJ can put it all together and he’s able to develop those higherend skill sets that we just talked about, watch out because you’re talking about a player who has the IQ, has the athleticism, combining that with the talent and the fundamentals and the skills. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself and get too crazy talking about VJ Edgecom and what he could be, but it gets you really, really excited for the kind of player he can become. I mean, we could be talking about one of the better players in the NBA if everything comes together in a perfect world. In the day, it’s up to him, how he’s able to improve, how he’s able to get better. Can those skill sets that take players from again good to great to elite come along? Even if they don’t, I think he still can be a very, very good NBA player, but that could really unlock that high-end upside and high-end potential that we’ve been talking about here so far on today’s show. So, you heard that NBA Eastern Conference exec say that BJ could be the second best player on the Sixers this season. I want you to chime in. Fill in the blank for me. BJ Edgecom will be the Sixers blank best player this season. Second, third, fourth. You think he’ll be the best player on the Sixers this year? That won’t happen. But let me know what are your thoughts. What are you predicting BJ can do in his rookie year? Get involved down in the comments section. Want to hear what you all have to say. And before we get to the rest of this ESPN surveys, I want to run through really quickly the other questions they had and where all the rookies ranked among some of their other topics. I want to continue telling you guys about this tremendous deal on this Sixers half zip jacket hoodie. It is a tremendous, tremendous deal. Was $85 normally, but we’re in the summer months right now. It is marked down to just $43. I’m telling you, you want to get it now because once it starts to get a little colder out and this product becomes an even more higher demand, that price is going to shoot right back up. It’s not going to be on this good of a sale any more. So, you want to take advantage while it is hot and while you can save some cash again. Was $85, now just 43. I think it looks clean as well in that style of the Sixers City edition jerseys from this past season. chatsports.com76ersip. You plug that website in, it’ll take you to Fanatics. You can take advantage of that great deal. I’ll have that link in the comment section and description of this video as well, so you can just click on it and it’ll take you right there. And again, you can get your hands on this halfzip while this deal still does apply. So, let’s go through now real quick some of those other categories that I mentioned off the top that these NBA execs and scouts did vote on. Rookie of the year, no surprise here. most of the execs voting for Cooper Flag. Got 17 of the 20 votes. Um, no votes for VG Edgecomb in this category here. Now, he is dealing with a lot more competition, I guess you could say, in his own team in terms of guys who are going to be putting up a bunch of points because at the end of the day, whoever scores the most points is probably winning the rookie of the year. like Cooper Flag with no Kyrie Irving there very at least the first half of the season at the very least doesn’t have a lot of competition for shots he’s going to put up a bunch of points and rebounds as well with his size probably going to win rookie of the year right Dylan Harper got two votes Trey Johnson got one vote as well I think Trey Johnson is going to put up some stupid numbers in Washington with how badly they need some of that outside scoring no votes for VJ here I’m a little bit shocked he didn’t get one vote but again I understand with how much talent the Sixers already have raw counting stats might not look great. And at the end of the day, that’s what the rookie of the year voting is for. Whoever has the best raw counting stats, he might make a greater impact on winning than some of these other guys. But unfortunately, that’s just not how the rookie of the year voting does work. Probably going to end up going to Cooper Flag. Next up, we got biggest steel of the draft. So, this does take more into account where these players got drafted. Best value at that selection. Five votes went to Carter Bryant forward for the Spurs. They got him pretty late uh in that first round, at least later than I think people thought he could have gone. And it’s just a great fit as well with the Spurs. And with them drafting Dylan Harper, they obviously have Victor Webbyama. They get Carter Bryant 14th overall in that draft. A three and D wing, athletic, can shoot the ball. Man, he’s going to be really, really good for them. So, not surprised he went and got the most votes. You although five votes out of 20, was first, but a lot of other guys receiving votes as well that aren’t even on this list. This is just everybody that got more than one vote because there was a bunch of guys that got one vote in particular, but Carter Bryant got five. Yoan Baring got four votes. Center for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He looked pretty good in his summer league debut. Blocked like I don’t want to say three or four shots in the first couple minutes of the game. People weren’t sure if he was going to be the best value pick where Minnesota took him a little bit earlier than a lot of experts had him going, but athletic hasn’t played a whole lot of basketball, but lot of potential, a lot of upside as a big man. Looks to be a good pick for them. And then Kaspar Yakonis really slid in the draft to Miami. Was very, very surprised on that. Nick Rolof, who also Miami Heat report here, as I mentioned earlier, huge fan of Yakonis. I think he had him as a top 10 guy, maybe even like top eight, I want to say. Fell all the way to Miami, had some good summer league games. I think that’s a good value pick for them as well. Biggest reach, some interesting names here for Biggest Reach in the 2025 NBA draft. Jagor Deon for Brooklyn. Brooklyn’s draft was really, really interesting. Took a bunch of guards. He had five first round picks. He took Deon eighth overall. Just too early in my opinion. Definitely some guys on the board there that would have made more sense, especially if they knew they were going to draft a bunch of guards at the back end of the draft. Anyways, um had his ups and downs in summer league, but of course, you know, we’ll see what these guys do once they reach the NBA level. Yang Hansen, center for the Portland Trailblazers. A lot of people were very, very surprised about this pick. Thought he was more of a second round guy. I did as well, but actually looked pretty good in summer league and and Damen Lillard, who is of course back in Portland now, said he’s a real player, man. He’s legit. So, I think the people who voted for him might be regretting that. He might not be the best player in this draft class, but I think he’ll be far from the biggest reach. Cedric Coward from Memphis as well. I think it took him 11th overall, right around there. Um, he’s an interesting player. He was a late riser. Only played, I want to say, four games this year at Washington State, but a player who has a lot of upside as a three and D wing. Shot like 40% from three. Looked really good in the few games he did play. A real a real win now guy. I like to pick for Memphis. Uh but definitely, you know, a huge rise, uh for someone who is kind of like a draft nerd, darling, uh if you will. And then finally, we’ll get to who the scouts and execs voted on for the number one pick in next year’s draft. Hopefully, uh this doesn’t matter too much to Philadelphia. If there’s a chance, you know, their pick is top four protected, uh, if they’re that bad again that that they’ll get a top four pick and they are looking at one of these picks in the NBA draft, that would be an absolute disaster. Darren Peterson, AJ Deans, though getting all the votes, Darren Peterson for more than AJ. It’s supposed to be really, really talented 2026 NBA draft. So again, hopefully we’re not looking towards that for at the back end of the season for Philadelphia. Hopefully we’re looking at a deep playoff run and not the NBA draft like we were last year. But just some names to pay attention to there as we reach the end of ESPN’s rookie rankings and rookie survey. Want to end off real quick with this on VJ. I’m just so excited to watch him play, man. Like aside from the skills that we’ve talked about. Don’t need to harp on those too much again from a basketball perspective, but just such a great person, such a great story, such a great culture fit and I think he’s going to have a lot of success here on Philly. again, even if he’s not amazing right away, I don’t want to put all these expectations, all this pressure on him from the jump. The Sixers don’t really need that either, but I think can be a really, really talented player. Excited for him to be a Philadelphia 76er. Once again, guys, if you are not subscribed already, be sure to hit that sub button. If you watched all the way until the end here in today’s show, hopefully that means you enjoyed. If you did, I encourage you to hit that sub button. Really, really appreciate it. We do content basically every single day, all year round right here on the show. again trying to hit 25,000 subscribers. So, hit that sub button, lock us in, and we’ll catch you next time right here on the show. [Music]

Philadelphia 76ers news on VJ Edgecombe from ESPN should get Sixers fans fired up. ESPN surveyed 20 NBA executives and NBA scouts, and these professionals voted VJ Edgecombe as the best pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Following an impressive 2025 NBA Summer League, VJ Edgecombe highlights have NBA scouts and 76ers fans alike excited for what he can become with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and the Philadelphia 76ers. 76ers Now Jake Chipper breaks down the latest Sixers news & rumors on VJ Edgecombe on today’s 76ers Now!

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ESPN on VJ Edgecombe:
“With Flagg the overwhelming headliner of the 2025 draft class, we geared this question toward the rest of the group. “Best pick” was left open for interpretation intentionally: The goal was simply to find out which selection(s) rival teams liked most. The big winner here was Edgecombe, who came off the board third to the 76ers and underscored his talent earlier this month with an outstanding 28-point performance in his lone game at the Utah summer league. The Baylor product is turning into a dynamic downhill slasher in the backcourt, and many execs and scouts believe he has significant untapped upside operating with the ball in his hands after playing mostly away from it in college.”

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NBA Eastern Conference GM on VJ Edgecombe:
“VJ might be Philly’s second-best player by the end of the season, factoring in [Joel] Embiid’s uncertain health. He’s that good and will thrive playing in Nick Nurse’s system.”

VJ Edgecombe strengths:
– Superb athleticism
– Defensive ability
– High basketball IQ
– Getting to his spots
– Plays with an edge

VJ Edgecombe weaknesses:
– Outside shooting
– Self-creation
– Ball handling
– Creating for others
-Rim finishing

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ESPN NBA Rookie of the Year voting:
Cooper Flagg (F, DAL): 17 votes
Dylan Harper (G, SAS): 2 votes
Tre Johnson (G, WAS): 1 vote

ESPN Biggest Steal of 2025 NBA Draft:
Carter Bryant (F, SAS): 5 votes
Joan Beringer (C, MIN): 4 votes
Kasparas Jakucionis (G, MIA): 2 votes

ESPN Biggest Reach of 2025 NBA Draft:
Egor Demin (G, BKN): 7 votes
Yang Hansen (C, POR): 4 votes
Cedric Coward (G, MEM): 3 votes

ESPN #1 overall pick in 2026 NBA Draft:
Darryn Peterson (G, Kansas): 12 votes
A.J. Dybantsa (F, BYU): 8 votes

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– VJ Edgecombe will be the Sixers’ _ best player this season

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