Justin Edwards was one of the few bright spots of the Sixers’ disastrous, cursed 2024-25 season. His second year in the NBA hasn’t progressed as smoothly as both he and the Sixers would have liked. Fighting to make the fringes of the rotation, his field goal and three-point percentages have dropped significantly. In 15 games this year he’s been DNP-CD.
He’s been forced into the rotation as of late with 80% of the starting lineup out with injury for an extended period of time. Edwards has taken advantage
of the opportunity, putting together three solid performances that helped the Sixers pick up two much-needed wins.
He dropped 19 points on the Brooklyn Nets and 21 on the Portland Trail Blazers while being insanely efficient. Edwards shot 69% and 64% from the field in those games, respectively.
His mentality over this stretch is very to similar to the team’s as a whole as they have plummeted down the Eastern Conference standings. There’s no time to reflect on it — he just needs to play quality minutes when he’s out there to try to pick off a win.
“I can’t think of it like that — guys are down so I got a bigger role on the team,” Edwards said after the Brooklyn game. “So I’m just trying to take advantage of that right now.”
Admittedly, it hasn’t been easy for him to fight for his playing time. As understanding of the business as he is, he wants to be in the rotation and playing every night as well.
“You know, I’m in the NBA, I’m part of that percentage that’s made it to the NBA,” he said. “I can’t think like that at the end of the day because this is my dream job and this is something I want to do for a long time. It always comes back around so I just got to stay ready and stay patient.”
Edwards sees the benefits of reserves deep on the bench having these games to build confidence while they’re shorthanded. He hopes that’s something that remains as the bigger names on the roster return from injury.
“I feel like it’s a confidence booster for coach,” he said, “being able to look down at the bench and say those guys are ready, they’ve been playing consistent minutes the last couple of games.”
There’s a lot of different ways the Sixers have to play based on who’s available. That especially makes it a challenge for guys on the fringes of the rotation to figure out their exact role. Edwards is hopeful this stretch makes his spot a little more clear when things look more normal.
“I feel like I could be a lot more comfortable, but as far as what my role is on this team, I’m getting a little more comfortable,” he said.
Edwards will have to continue playing like this in the meantime to retain that rotation spot if and when the starters return from injury. Putting up 20 points a night is a good place to start though.
