VJ Edgecombe Can't Heal Scars of the Past, But He Is Making Up For Unkept Promises

PHILADELPHIA — VJ Edgecombe had to pause before he finished his sentence.

With cameras documenting footage, microphones enhancing the audio and voice recorders putting it on the record all over the room, what he wanted to say — what he meant to say — couldn't be taken back once the words left his mouth.

He stared toward the ground for a brief moment and then decided to say what he felt.

Edgecombe's eyes darted toward the reporter who posed the question, looking him dead in the eyes as he delivered his honest truth.

"I have the most confidence in the world. Sometimes I might be a little delusional, but I have the most confidence in the world," he spat out.

Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz will never mean much to Edgecombe. Those disappointments have far preceeded his time in Philadelphia.

But the scars those two high-profile lottery picks left on this franchise, on this fanbase, never go away. Not as long as Joel Embiid dons this uniform.

What Edgecombe may know but can't truly appreciate is that all of the moments on the timeline of the last decade led to him sitting in front of a blue Sixers backdrop as he fielded questions about the team's victory over the Washington Wizards.

Had it not been for a 10-72 season leading to Simmons; had Embiid not torn his meniscus, leading to a prioritized effort to improve the franchise's lottery position in 2017; had they not traded for the right to draft Fultz with the first overall pick; had Fultz not spontaneously combusted upon putting on a Sixers uniform; had they then not traded for Jimmy Butler a year later to be what Fultz was steadily proving he could never be; had they not gone all in on a flash-in-the-pan season from Tobias Harris and paid a hefty price to acquire him that they then overpaid to keep him in free agency; had they sold high on Simmons and kept Butler instead of signing Al Horford; had Simmons' back not quickly become a constant source of injuries; had Mike Muscala not gone on a shooting heater to help ensure that the Sixers kept the draft pick that became Tyrese Maxey; had Simmons not regressed so dramatically, culminating in the biggest playoff failure of this era; had Simmons then not held out amid a trade request as Embiid's MVP-level leap put pressure on the organization to replace the declining star's value with that of the return on his trade; had they not then traded for James Harden; had Harden not requested a trade after a year-and-a-half; had the Sixers not ridden Embiid while banking on Maxey's growth to replace Harden's impact and financial flexibility in the next summer to get the star wing of Daryl Morey's dreams; had Embiid not suffered another meniscus injury, derailing a world-beater season but giving the Sixers decent draft position; had Embiid's recovery gone as hoped and rookie sensation Jared McCain not suffered his own meniscus injury, not leaving Maxey to fend for himself with a perpetually hobbled Paul George; had the lottery combination landed in a different sequence, Edgecombe would not be a Sixer right now.

The Sixers would not have two maniacal workers patroling their backcourt for the foreseeable future.

"I swear. I think I can make the shots I see Tyrese making."

They would not have this kid from Bimini — a seven-mile by half-a-mile island in the Bahamas — who has all the confidence that Simmons and Fultz never did.

How delusional is his confidence?

The 19-year-old Baylor freshman was billed for his immense athleticism, motor and defensive acumen. His shooting and shot creation were question marks. The Sixers bet on his work ethic, a lesson from which they've learned a great deal since choosing Maxey back in 2020.

Edgecombe trusts his work ethic. That's why he believes he can emulate the things he sees his more-veteran backcourt mate do.

"I swear. I think I can make the shots I see Tyrese making," Edgecome said.

That belief in himself is reinforced daily as he and assistant coach Rico Hines invest time in his shot. They've worked together every day since Edgecombe arrived in Philadelphia.

They work on mechanics, something Nick Nurse put at the front of Edgecombe's mind when he first took the court at the Camden practice facility in the summer. They work on movement shots and off-the-dribble shots, too. They fill their time by working on everything.

"I want to be the best and the best can shoot."

But Edgecombe knew he could do the one thing that held Simmons and Fultz back, the base skill that led to this franchise perpetually trying to cover up holes, long before he ever picked up a Sixers hat on draft night.

"As a kid, I always could shoot the ball. Then I grew, I wanted to dunk and jump and all that. But yeah, it feels good to knock down shots," Edgecombe said of his growing credibility as a shooter.

"I mean, as a basketball player, you know, if people keep running under screens or just letting you shoot wide open shots, it's going to kill your confidence. You don't want to play anymore. Especially me — at 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 — that won't help me at all. In any way."

Whereas Simmons knew that opponents knew he didn't trust himself, and Fultz — well, who knows —Edgecombe treats any disrespect as an opportunity. An opportunity to capitalize. An opportunity to punish.

"Being able to shoot the ball is a big key, especially in today's game. I'm not seven foot, athletic, running and dunking the whole time. No, I can't do that," Edgecombe said with a grin.

"But I got to add aspects to my game because I want to be the best. I want to be the best and the best can shoot, they can do everything on the floor. So, yeah, I want to be the best. So that's why I work so hard."

What's his next progression as a shooter?

Play the broken record until the lyrics are seared into his body.

"Just reps. Non-stop reps. I mean, I'm doing all of that right now. Like, literally every day, I'm in the gym just trying to get better, just trying to get better, just working on my game, working on my shots. As time progresses, I will also start getting better at different aspects. Try to become a three-level scorer. I feel like I am now, but try to be even better," Edgecombe said.

He's already getting better at different aspects.

That's why Edgecombe is changing the Sixers' trajectory. Not just for now. But for the future, too.