Multiple Sixers give love to VJ Edgecombe after wild win over Warriors
PHILADELPHIA — There have been a lot of fantastic rookies over the years in the NBA, but there are few that can show the maturity to get the job done in the guts of the game the way Philadelphia 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe can.
The Sixers trailed the Golden State Warriors by one with only seconds left to try and come up with a win. As the Warriors tried to inbound the ball, Edgecombe made a fantastic play to come up with a steal and give the Sixers one final chance with 8.2 seconds left.
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After Tyrese Maxey had his game-winning attempt blocked, Edgecombe tracked down the ball and stayed focused enough to put in the game-winning bucket with 0.9 seconds left as the Sixers knocked off the Warriors 99-98. Not a lot of rookies can do that on both ends of the floor.
“He just does a lot of things that, like, you know he can score. You know he can pass. Like, he does things that don’t show up in the box score,” Maxey said of Edgecombe. “Like, yeah, the steal does, but he goes out there and he plays hard. He’ll grab extra rebounds or he’ll tip the ball to somebody. He’ll get a deflection. We appreciate him because he does those things.”
Those little things like a deflection or tipping the ball to a teammate to create an extra possession and things of the like are winning plays that rookies don’t always necessarily make. A lot of rookies are just trying to find their footing in the league and find a way to make an impact, but Edgecombe has gotten that down pat.
“I feel like his defense doesn’t get enough credit,” added Dominick Barlow. “Like, he really pressures the ball. He’s super active and, like, that’s a huge skill to have as a rookie guard, considering how good most guards are in the NBA. So I think that’s just a super underrated part of his game. It doesn’t get enough credit, but just on offense, he’s poised. He’s not forcing it, he’s letting the game come to him, and he’s had super big games, and every night looks different for him. I think just him being in attack mode and picking his spots and just really getting what he wants makes our team better.”
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Edgecombe has had this tendency all season. Even when things aren’t going well, he just seems to come up with some big plays down the stretch in crunch time. He has this impressive ability to just not care about his numbers or how well he’s shooting the ball and it allows him to be large with the game on the line.
“Listen, he wasn’t having a great night out there, I didn’t think, and that’s part of the reason we were using other guys, but it’s kind of the same thing,” coach Nick Nurse added. “I thought, with a couple minutes to go, he’s had some of these games where he just hasn’t done much, and then down the stretch, he hit a big 3, get a big rebound, whatever. I just thought, ‘Let’s go back with him, and maybe he’ll make a play.'”
It’s clear and obvious that Edgecombe just knows how to play winning basketball at such a young age. As the Sixers move forward, he is going to play a big role for this group and everybody around him knows that.
“He’s got a nose for the ball, and he’s got a nose for what’s going on out there,” Nurse added. “So even though he’s a rookie, he can make those plays.”
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Multiple Sixers give love to VJ Edgecombe after wild win over Warriors