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Sixers’ VJ Edgecombe Shines With Two Game Winners on Way to Rising Stars MVP Honors
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VJ Edgecombe’s heater of a rookie season continued Friday night as the star 76ers guard was named MVP of the Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend in Los Angeles.
He had 23 points total over two games on the night as Team Vince took home the crown. He scored 10 straight points in the first contest of the night, including a clutch midrange jumper to give his team the win by hitting the target score of 40. The bucket capped off a 17-point performance in the first game as Team Vince defeated Team T-Mac and advanced to the final.
10 straight points... plus the game-winning shot!
— NBA (@NBA) February 14, 2026
VJ Edgecombe was CLUTCH for Team Vince 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QxshhKl1go
Edgecombe scored six points in the final against Team Melo and iced the game at the free-throw line for a 25-24 victory. Not the most exciting game-winning bucket you’ll see, but the clutch free throws sealed an incredible night for Edgecombe who’s in the middle of a breakout rookie season after the 76ers made him the third pick in the 2025 NBA draft.
VJ Edgecombe game winning free throw and the rising stars championship!pic.twitter.com/6SNUOJKGUw
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) February 14, 2026
“For Philly baby,” he said after the big night. “Hopefully that championship win in Rising Stars is the first I’m going to have this season.”
The Sixers are 30-24 and sixth place in the Eastern Conference at the All-Star break. Edgecombe makes up half of Philadelphia’s “V.J. Maxx” backcourt of the future alongside star guard Tyrese Maxey. The rookie out of Baylor is averaging 14.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game through 50 games in his first season.
Star big man Joel Embiid has been on fire since the calendar flipped to 2026 as the Sixers won six of their past nine games before the break while without Paul George who’s serving a 25-game suspension. We’ll see if Philadelphia’s star rookie guard can build off his big performance at All-Star weekend.
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Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.
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