Allen Iverson Said What Sixers Fans Already Knew About VJ Edgecombe

Few players have won the heart of the Sixers’ fanbase as Allen Iverson did during his storied Philadelphia tenure. However, VJ Edgecombe has already made quite an impression since the Sixers drafted him third overall in the 2025 NBA draft.

Iverson has taken notice.

Iverson and Edgecombe recently spoke on the Sixers’ video series “Film Sessions,” which facilitates a discussion between a member of the 2000-01 team and a current player. The two talked about the highs of Edgecombe’s young NBA career as well as former players that Edgecombe reminds Iverson of.

The Hall-of-Famer had great praise for the rookie.

“The one thing I love about you the most is, yes, you have all the intangibles, you have everything that it takes,” Iverson said to Edgecombe. “It’s only going to get better, but you got the one thing that you cannot teach, and that’s that dog.”

Allen Iverson to VJ Edgecombe:

“You got that one thing that you cannot teach and that’s that dog.”

(via @alleniverson, @sixers) pic.twitter.com/WdODFDfXdz
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 8, 2026

Edgecombe admitted to Iverson the nerves he felt in his NBA debut against the Boston Celtics on October 22. He felt the pulse of a rowdy TD Garden crowd and the stakes of the game, but his unease improved as he moved around.

That was a sentiment Iverson shared when he faced Michael Jordan.

“You ain’t scared, you just want to do good,” Iverson said.”

For reference, Edgecombe notched 34 points—14 of which were in the first quarter—and five 3-pointers en route to a 117-116 victory.

Iverson shows love to Edgecombe

That was not the only legacy moment that Edgecombe has enjoyed this season, though. He jostled for a putback layup to give the Sixers a 99-98 lead over the Golden State Warriors on December 4 that Tyrese Maxey secured with a game-winning block on De’Anthony Melton’s layup.

Iverson saw Edgecombe try to rush to the other end of the court to contest Melton, which put his “craziness” into perspective for him.

“I actually thought the clock ran out when I laid it up, then I see it’s like 0.5 seconds left, I’m like, ‘No way,’” Edgecombe said. “Perfect pass, everything, like it was on the money…thank God ‘Rese so fast.”

The sequence prompted Iverson to jump around in excitement while watching the game at home, an act that many Sixers fans can relate to. What’s more, Iverson said that Edgecombe reminded him of Eric Snow and Aaron McKie in the way that they approach the game from a defensive and intangible lens.

Edgecombe is averaging 16 points, 5.6 rebounds, four assists, and 1.4 steals per game as a rising dynamic offensive engine. Although Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg headline the Rookie of the Year race, Edgecombe’s season will be one to remember, especially with Iverson’s stamp of approval.

Philadelphia has done many things to honor the 25th anniversary of its 2000-01 team, but the conversation between Iverson and Edgecombe is one of the coolest.

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