CAMDEN, N.J. — After the Sixers added LeBron James and Jaylen Brown this offseason, VJ Edgecombe seemed in line to take a step back for the sake of the team. The electric young guard doesn’t see it that way, instead aiming to step up for his teammates this season.
Edgecombe is comfortable among his fellow starters, all four of whom are multi-time All-Stars. Despite being the least experienced of the group, the second-year guard has no reservations about making his voice heard.
“I'm myself,” Edgecombe said. “I told [LeBron], I was like — I mean, if we have a possession — I'm like, ‘Yo, Bron, we got to switch that. We got to do it, you know what I'm saying?’ Whoever, we hold each other accountable. We're teammates now, man. There's no pressure playing alongside him; it’s fun.”
For Edgecombe, being willing to speak up isn’t about asserting himself. It’s about establishing the accountability he believes a team needs.
“I'm just trying to encourage my teammates. Just talk, be vocal. Obviously we critique each other at times, but that's what happens. It happens in the game of basketball. But we're building that relationship. If I have something to say, I don't want it to be from a voice that's not heard. I want to be vocal, where, if I tell them ‘Do something,’ they'll be like, 'Okay,' ain't like it's my first time saying something.”
When he announced his retirement, Chris Paul said that “leadership is hard and is not for the weak.” It’s a mentality that Edgecombe has willingly embraced in his young career.
“It's important that I do that,” Edgecombe continued. “It's important that I voice myself. We're all men. We're all gonna listen to each other. We might not do what [each other] wants us to do exactly, but we're all gonna listen to each other. We're gonna hear each other out. It's all a respect kind of thing.”
Communication is always important, but for a Sixers team looking to maximize its defensive potential, it will border on essential.
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As a defender, Edgecombe showed noticeable development throughout his rookie season. That progression came almost naturally as he stayed rooted in film study while adjusting to the rhythm, speed and strength of the NBA throughout the year.
“It's all those factors,” Edgecombe said. “Plus, I got faster and stronger too. I was able to put on more weight and still move the same. And obviously, as a defender, you have to be strong, especially when you're going against guys that are in the NBA. So I think I got faster and stronger, and that's what's helping me too.”
Edgecombe continued by crediting his teammates for their part in his defensive development.
“I got the back line of defense at times. I can hear them, so that even makes me more comfortable knowing I'm not on that island alone. It's one-on-one, but I know they got my back, and that's important.”
Edgecombe will be relying on those voices now more than ever as he succeeds Kelly Oubre as the team’s primary point-of-attack (POA) defender. Last season, Edgecombe was effectively the vice captain of that role, so he’s accustomed to what it entails, but now he’s taking the lead.
“I thought I did a pretty good job last year… But yeah, I'm looking forward to that,” Edgecombe said. “Like I said, I'm just trying to make sure I'm in top-tier shape so I can do that. Obviously that's important. The league is full of great guards, and like you said, that's important to be that point-of-attack D because that's who really starts most of the possessions, and I want to be able to set that tone for us defensively, and we go from there.”
Sacrifice has been a common theme around the Sixers through media day and the first day of camp, though the team has pushed back on the negative connotation often attached to the word.
“Sometimes in sports, people hear sacrifice, and they automatically think something negative about it,” LeBron said Monday. “It's not a negative thing.
“You can sacrifice one or two more shots. That gives you one or two more bursts of energy in the fourth quarter to slide over and take a charge, or give you one or two more bursts of energy to get an offensive rebound for an extra possession to kick out for a teammate, or an extra two bursts of energy to run back a defense and get a chase-down block. Some things that don't show up in box scores.”
Just before Edgecombe addressed the media, his head coach expressed a similar sentiment.
“It seems like such a negative term to me,” Nick Nurse said. “I'd rather really emphasize being who you are, right? But maybe we need you to do something super special for our team at this moment, and you have the abilities to do it. Then let's do it.”
Leaning into a defense-first role is often considered a sacrificial act, but for Edgecombe, it’s simply an extension of who he is as a player. He’s undeniably an electric offensive talent, but he’s also a dynamic defender and, perhaps most importantly, has proven to be a committed teammate.
It’s those qualities Edgecombe will lean on this season as he takes on the heavy, often thankless responsibility of setting the tone for the Sixers’ defense.
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