Finally some hardware for the campaign he’s put up.
The NBA announced their rookies of the month for the month of March and VJ Edgecombe was selected for the Eastern Conference. Not only is it his first time winning this award, but it’s the first Rookie of the Month in the East this season to not go to Kon Knueppel. Edgecombe has been a nominee every month this season but finally edged out the Charlotte Hornet in March.
Knueppel and Wil Riley of the Washington Wizards were the runners up to Edgecombe
while Sacramento’s Maxime Raynaud was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month.
Edgecombe did so averaging 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He did so shooting 45% from the field and 36% from three-point range.
He really excelled keeping a very injured Sixers team afloat for a good chunk of the month. In eight games where Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George were all on the sideline, Edgecombe put up 21 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He dropped more than 30 points twice in a four game stretch, putting him in a special category for a four-game stretch amongst rookies, as pointed out by PHLY’s Derek Bodner.
As Knueppel’s several Rookie of the Month awards would indicate, Edgecombe is still a ways back from him in the Rookie of the Year race. Oddsmakers put Edgecombe as a very long shot behind Knueppel and Cooper Flagg to win that award. The season Edgecombe is having, especially for a team trying to make a playoff push, is a very special one and deserving of being recognized at least once. On the season, Edgecombe is averaging 16.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game shooting 44% from the field and 36% from three.
