VJ Edgecombe isn’t afraid to speak his mind, and that’s earned the respect of his Sixers teammates

As VJ Edgecombe enters the second season of his career, he is sharing the floor with a four-time champion and Most Valuable Player (LeBron James), another MVP (Joel Embiid), a five-time All-Star and NBA Finals MVP (Jaylen Brown), and a two-time All-Star (Tyrese Maxey).

Those are some hefty resumés and pieces of hardware his fellow starters have hoisted.

Other young NBA players in Edgecombe’s Adidas sneakers might tend to suppress their voices, to defer in leadership to the more accomplished veterans. But those who have watched Edgecombe blossom since the start of his rookie year know he is hardly one to keep quiet.

His infectious personality, engaging attitude — and his desire to be heard — are some of the qualities that endeared him to teammates old and new.

Take Brown, who, after just a week of practicing with Edgecombe, said, “I love VJ already. That’s one of my favorite people in the world, and we just met.”

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When James was deciding where he would play this season, he said he heard through the grapevine just how much Edgecombe was a leader on the team, already at such a young age.

After the 76ers had their transformative offseason, one tangential question that came up was concern over Edgecombe’s development, that it might take a backseat to his more established teammates. As this Sixers team has practiced and played this preseason, that hardly seems like a worry. Edgecombe, and his voice, will be a big part in the Sixers’ potential success.

“I have men around me that’s really respectful, and they hear me out so they don’t just shut me down,” Edgecombe said. “It’s just important that I always make my voice heard because we live in a world where people try to lessen your voice and I’m not going for that.”

Shortly after the Sixers signed James, Edgecombe had the idea to start a group chat with the projected starting five. There was one problem with his plan, though; he didn’t have James’ number. Even if he did, “Why would I randomly add LeBron to a group chat?” he said at media day.

His solution?

“I told Tyrese [Maxey] to do it,” Edgecombe said.

About that group chat, he added: “It was my idea, so if any one of them tell you that it was their idea, they’re lying.”

The group chat may be a pretty basic idea, but it can show how Edgecombe’s mind works when it comes to facilitating communication with his teammates. It’s a subtle sign of the leadership Edgecombe showed in his first season with the team.

“I always say that we got a eight-year vet right out of the blocks with his composure and his demeanor,” coach Nick Nurse said.

Using your voice to deliver blunt assessments and constructive criticism of your teammates at 21 in an NBA locker room is like walking a tightrope that is already frayed. The margin for error is hairlike. Say the wrong thing at the wrong time, and someone might throw your lack of experience in your face, or want to compare their paycheck to yours. That can be how it is navigating the politics of an NBA locker room early in a player’s career.

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“We’re all men, and we’re all going to listen to each other,” Edgecombe said. “We might not do what you want us to do exactly, but we’re all going to listen to each other. We’re going to hear each other out. It’s all a respect kind of thing.”

It says something about this Sixers’ willingness to set egos aside that Edgecombe can have such a strong voice, and it says something about his future that he’s not shying away from that opportunity.

Even at nearly half James’ age, over a decade younger than Embiid and almost nine years younger than Brown, Edgecombe makes sure his teammates hear him, in a huddle, communicating on defense or in that group chat.

“If I have something to say, I don’t want to be a voice that’s not heard,” Edgecombe said. “I want to be vocal where it’s like, ‘OK, if I tell them to do something, they’ll be like, OK.’ Ain’t like this is my first time saying something. And it’s important that I do that. It’s important that I voice myself.”

At media day, Maxey conditioned his statement about what Edgecombe will mean to the team this upcoming season, but the point he made was still significant.

“VJ is gonna be probably, if not our most important player, like he’s gonna be extremely important for us,” Maxey said.

Maxey said that because of who Edgecombe is off the court, but also because he knows Edgecombe can handle variations in his box score output on a nightly basis.

“We’re gonna need his youth. We’re gonna need the energy every single day,” Maxey said. “You’re gonna have to be the same person every single night, and some nights you’re gonna have to be 10 [points], eight rebounds, four steals. …

“Some nights we don’t know what we’re gonna need him to do. But he has to be that steady, that rock every single night, and I think he’s up for it.”

“Sacrifice” has been one of the buzzwords the Sixers have tossed around in training camp. As in, they know with such a talent-laden roster, there may be fluctuations in statistics like guys haven’t experienced in their careers in a long time. James and Nurse have both said sacrifice doesn’t have to be a negative word.

But it is a fact, when a team has as many high-usage players as the Sixers, that scoring and shots could depend on the night and the matchup. Some second-year players may not want to give up such statistics, since they haven’t earned a big pay day like their more veteran peers. But nobody is worried Edgecombe is that kind of player. How does Maxey know that? He senses a bit of himself in Edgecombe.

“We’re built kind of the same,” Maxey said. “He’s adaptable, and at the end of the day, VJ just wants to win. I kind of saw that last year. He’s a winner, so he’s gonna do whatever it takes to win. I’m proud of him, extremely proud of him, because he’s grown as a player over the summer. I’ve watched him, and he’s growing as a person, maturity-wise.”

After reflecting on his first NBA season, Edgecombe realized something — he was worn out.

“In the NBA, you get really tired,” Edgecombe said. “So when I was able to take some weeks off and reflect on the season, I was really tired. I don’t know if that’s normal.”

The proverbial rookie wall is a real thing, but in year two, Edgecombe said he is faster and in better shape, which is a good thing because of the responsibilities he wants to handle.

First, he wants to be a main point-of-attack defender and keep improving in that area.

“I’m just trying to make sure I’m in top-tier shape so I can do that,” Edgecombe said.

Then on offense, the first bucket he scored in a preseason game against Brooklyn, the first time all the starters played together against another team, showed why he needs to be in that kind of shape.

After a Nets field goal, Edgecombe ran the floor and James found him with a long hit-ahead pass for a layup. The Sixers have four of the best transition scorers in the NBA in their lineup, and running is a strength of theirs, with Edgecombe having top-tier athletic ability.

“He’s made a step forward,” Nurse said. “I think just in general, it just feels like he’s better than he was a year ago.”

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Even though his teammates have more lines on their resumés, Edgecombe is still coming off an impressive rookie year that earned him All-Rookie first-team honors and a third-place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting. He has become fast friends with Brown. He impressed James with how he navigated his rookie year and how his voice emerged on a team that won a playoff series.

Amid all this talent, the Sixers, Edgecombe, and his teammates are determined to not let him get lost in the mix. If he ever felt like he was, he’d say something about it.

“He’s just not quiet, and I say that in a good way,” James said. “ … Even at his young age, it definitely feels like he’s much older. It feels like he’s definitely not in year two, and that’s great to have.”