The Philadelphia 76ers are back on the court, whether you like it or not!
Jokes aside, after the slog of the 2024-25 campaign and a long offseason, the Sixers are starting anew. On Thursday afternoon, they opened their preseason schedule against the New York Knicks in the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
The Knicks defeated the Sixers 99-84 , but it’s preseason — it’s really about how the team and players look more so than the final score. Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe were, as probably somewhat expected,
the leaders for Philadelphia in their first bit of 2025-26 action. Though, I’d argue they might have even been a little more impressive than expected this early. Maxey led the way with 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block in 23 minutes played. No. 3 overall pick Edgecombe looked damn impressive with 14 points, six rebounds and three assists. Both Maxey and Edgecombe, if you ask me, look better than even those stats would have you believe too.
No one (for either team) including these guys shot particularly well, but that’s somewhat to be expected this early. They’ll get another chance on Saturday as the NBA Abu Dhabi 2025 games continue with the Sixers facing the Knicks again in preseason action at 11 a.m. ET.
Until then, let’s kick off this preseason with a Bell Ringer, shall we?
Tyrese Maxey: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Breaking news: Tyrese Maxey, still good at basketball. Preseason ball can look pretty damn messy at times, but Maxey seemed to get right into the groove. He seemed to be seeing the floor really well from the jump, finding lanes for himself to dance through or openings to set up his teammates with good looks. (Honestly, he probably would have had more assists if anyone’s shots were falling with consistency.)
It was really just Maxey being Maxey. It’s no mystery to Sixers fans what Maxey is capable of when he’s playing at his best and has the help to be able to play his game. Yes, it’s only preseason, but with the addition of Edgecombe and others helping spread the floor a bit more than Maxey was treated to last season, the sixth-year guard is already looking to be in a better place than most of last year. He looked extremely confident and comfortable line-driving his way to the net (with his acrobatic finishes that we all know and love) and other skills like his floater look smooth like he’s in the middle of a season, not across the world starting a new one.
He did have five turnovers if you’re just looking at the stat sheet, but hardly anything egregious enough to blame on sloppiness rather than just adapting to working with some new lineups and teammates. Shots also weren’t falling at the rate Maxey would probably like, but no one was exactly shooting the lights out in this one. A little patience on that front, though, is probably warranted this early.
VJ Edgecombe: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Yes, it’s just preseason… but VJ Edgecombe certainly doesn’t look or play like a 20-year-old rookie. It’s only October, he hasn’t played an NBA game yet and Edgecombe still fearlessly went directly for the kill over Mitchell Robinson — the only thing that stopped him was being fouled in the process.
For me, it’s less about the fact that the slam didn’t go in and more just that this perfectly exemplifies Edgecombe’s aggression, confidence and fearlessness on the court already.
Not only that, but Edgecombe is already displaying a level of awareness and game IQ that one might not expect from a 20-year-old kid. He has so many skills to utilize from his speed, his shooting and his passing and, most importantly, seems to have a good insight on when to use each different trick in his bag. Whether it’s fancy footwork to make a little space for a high-arcing three over a defender or driving in and finding an open teammate to assist, Edgecombe seems to have NBA-level decision-making already.
The only downside for Edgecombe on Thursday was simply that his shots weren’t all falling. He finished the game with 14 points on 4-for-13 field goal shooting (1-for-6 from long range), but again, that is something I think is less worth worrying about this early in the preseason when you compare it to all the important things he’s already doing extremely well.
I think this kid is going to be a lot of fun to watch.
