VJ Edgecombe’s clutch gene returns in Sixers’ win over New York Knicks: ‘It’s really who he is’
Edgecombe hit a crucial three-pointer and played tough defense on Finals MVP Jalen Brunson to help the Sixers clinch a 98-93 win to open NBA Cup group play.
Jalen Brunson elevated over VJ Edgecombe’s outstretched arm, splashing the three-pointer from the right corner. It gave the New York Knicks a one-point lead over the 76ers — their first since the matchup’s opening minute — with just over 90 seconds to go and ignited the visiting fans who had been quiet for the bulk of the night.
Then Edgecombe, the Sixers’ second-year guard, stuck with Brunson, the reigning Finals MVP, as he missed a driving shot off the glass on the Knicks’ next possession. And then, after the Sixers had regained the lead, Edgecombe let it fly from long range, stretching the Sixers’ lead to four points with 33.6 seconds remaining. And then he pulled down the final rebound, wrapping the ball in both arms in his team’s 98-93 victory over the defending NBA champions on Friday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Sixers followers already had become accustomed to those clutch moments from Edgecombe as a mature-beyond-his-years rookie. That intangible trait is a reason All-NBA guard Tyrese Maxey called Edgecombe perhaps the Sixers’ most important player — even after adding the legendary LeBron James and All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown — entering a high-pressure 2026-27 season. And against the Knicks, Edgecombe still found his spots for crunch-time impact with Maxey, James, and Joel Embiid on the floor to help the Sixers win their NBA Cup group play opener and improve their record to 5-1.
“That’s just the confidence I have in myself,” Edgecombe said postgame. “I still have to shoot the ball, regardless. I mean, if it’s the right shot, I’m going to make sure I shoot the ball. Because after that, if I turn it down, there might not be a better shot after that.”
If one only perused Friday’s box score, Edgecombe’s statistical line of 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting and eight rebounds looks productive but not spectacular. He did have an early scoring impact, hitting a long jumper over Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns and finding free space for two dunks. Edgecombe also was crucial to the defensive effort on Brunson, who missed six of his first seven shots while the Sixers built a double-digit lead in the first half.
Then Edgecombe went quiet — “I can become passive at times, but I always just try to make the right play,” he said — before those massive plays on both ends down the stretch.
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On the Sixers’ newly loaded roster, Edgecombe’s responsibilities have shifted. Offensively, the electric 21-year-old guard is not a primary ballhandler as often, making his complementary cutting, transition play, and rebounding important. He is averaging 11.6 points and 7.8 rebounds in five games but is shooting 40.7% from the floor, including 29.6% from three-point range.
Yet Edgecombe is morphing into a ferocious asset on the opposite end of the floor.
Though he believes he has made the most strides as an off-ball defender, he regularly is tasked with guarding many of the NBA’s elite perimeter players. He also has faced the Knicks more than any other opponent in his early professional career, including last spring’s playoff sweep and multiple preseason games.
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That means several reps against Brunson, whom Edgecombe on Friday morning praised for his fundamentals and ability to “get really hot, really fast.”
“I can’t hang my head down and get mad because he made a tough shot,” Edgecombe said of Brunson’s go-ahead three-pointer in front of the Sixers’ bench. “He shot it over me. I kind of did my job, but it’s going to happen. …
“I just try to make sure every shot is a little just difficult or it’s contested to where, if they make a bunch of contested shots and win the game like that, credit to them.”
So Edgecombe focused on keeping his composure for the next play.
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Coming out of an earlier timeout, Edgecombe had told Maxey he would set a screen for his backcourt mate, and they would “make something shake from there.” So when Mikal Bridges abandoned Edgecombe on the left wing to double-team Maxey — the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week who finished Friday with 27 points — Edgecombe got the ball and fired away. When his deep shot swished through the net, he brought both hands to his eyes to create the shape of goggles with three fingers pointing up.
“He came in and hit the biggest shot of the game,” teammate Anfernee Simons said.
It was “vintage” VJ in crunch time — even on the Sixers’ newly star-studded roster while facing the defending champs.
“He just does that,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “It’s really who he is. I think we all know it.”
