A lot of eyes are on VJ Edgecombe after LeBron James’ decision to join the Philadelphia 76ers, with concerns over how it may affect his minutes.
Selected third overall by Philly, VJ Edgecombe put together a hell of a rookie season. The kid was pure energy, putting up 16 points, 5.6 boards, and 4.2 assists a night.
He easily earned All-Rookie First Team honors and quickly became a fan favorite in Philadelphia.
However, with LeBron James making his way to the 76ers, there are questions around what kind of impact that may have on the rookie.
Especially as in the past we’ve seen players like James Harden head to Philadelphia when Tyrese Maxey was trying to make his way in the NBA.
Tyrese Maxey vows to help VJ EdgecombeShowing his maturity, Tyrese Maxey has already outlined a plan to make VJ Edgecombe feel secure and involved once LeBron James takes to the court.
When speaking on the Number On The Board YouTube channel, Maxey brought up his experience playing alongside James Harden and how that experience can help him shape this season.
“I will say before I make sure that I say this like I know people say VJ is going to sacrifice a lot, right. I was in this kind of predicament my second year when James (Harden) came on the team, cause the beginning of the season I’m out there, I’m averaging like what I don’t know, like 16, 17, and as soon as we traded for James, I was like dang. Like I was happy, of course, but I was like, dang, like what does that mean for me.
“And one thing I appreciated that I really want to talk about is him and Joel, as soon as James got there, you know, he pulled me to the side. Like, don’t think that this changes anything for you as far as your development and your progression and your aggressiveness. Like, he was giving me the ball and making me be aggressive.
“That’s what we going to do to VJ. Like, I tell VJ, it’s been times where we go to games and I look at the stat sheet at halftime and it’s four shots. I’m like, how is this possible, bro? Like, is this my fault? Cause if it is, we got to figure this out. Like, we’re not going to win a game like this.
“Third overall pick. What way? Yeah, bro. What we doing? Come on, man. Hey, you got it and I’m going to push him. I’m going to continue to push him even this year.”
Interestingly, before Harden joined Philadelphia, Maxey averaged 17.3 points on 47.5% shooting and 38.7% from deep.
Once playing alongside Harden’s playmaking, Maxey moved off-ball and boosted his production, scoring 18.0 points per game while his efficiency surged to 51.5% shooting and 50.0% from three-point range.
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