VJ Edgecombe just told the league exactly who he is during NBA All Star Weekend
There are moments during All Star Weekend where a young player can introduce himself to the rest of the basketball world, and on Friday night VJ Edgecombe stole the spotlight from everyone else in attendance.
The Sixers rookie poured in 23 of his team’s 66 points across the Rising Stars mini tournament and walked away with MVP honors, icing the championship game by calmly knocking down two free throws for a 25 to 24 win.
VJ Edgecombe seals it for Team Vince
VJ Edgecombe showed this in Philadelphia all season.
What made the whole thing hit harder is that it didn’t feel fluky or new. In the semifinal, with the target score in sight, VJ Edgecombe simply decided it was over.
He drilled a pair from deep, then rose up and buried a step back from the elbow over Cam Spencer to send his group to the final. Ten straight points, game high 17 on 6 of 8 shooting, and the body language of someone who expects to own the end of the night.
If you’ve watched even a handful of Sixers games, you’ve seen that movie already.
CLUTCH: VJ Edgecombe
Fifty games into his NBA career, this is no longer a pleasant surprise. It is a pattern. Edgecombe has been a killer late, shooting near the top of the league in clutch situations, rebounding, getting steals, demanding the responsibility that veteran players sometimes shy away from.
The kid is 20 years old and acts like the last five minutes belong to him. That is rare air.
All Star environments can swallow young guys. The lights are different, the crowd is different, everyone is trying to get theirs. VJ Edgecombe treated it like a random night in February.
Under control, poised, letting the game come to him until it was time to go take it. His teammates were looking for him late because everyone in the building understood the assignment.
Even Daryl Morey recently said Edgecombe has a real chance to be a future All Star, particularly because of how he performs when games tighten up. For once, that didn’t sound like executive hype, but rather someone stating the obvious.
Friday was confirmation. The Sixers drafted a closer, and now the rest of the league knows it too.
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