Imagine being 20 years old. For some of us, it was a very long time ago. Maybe you were in college and went to a party or two. Maybe you studied a trade or hit the job market early. You quite possibly
had a regrettable hairdo or made questionable fashion choices.
If you’re reading this, what you likely weren’t doing is nailing overtime game-winners on the road playing alongside three NBA All-Stars.
But that’s exactly what 20-year-old VJ Edgecombe did Tuesday night vs. the Memphis Grizzlies, burying a three with 1.7 seconds left in overtime to give the Sixers a 139-136 win. It was the team’s first victory with all members of its Big 3 playing.
Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid carried the load for most of the night, dropping 34 points apiece. All the noise about the duo not coalescing — a pairing that has always been wildly successful playing together — looked silly for one night. Paul George didn’t have his best game, but did make some key plays down the stretch.
But after all the consternation over the Big 3 — Embiid slowing things down, Maxey deferring, George’s inconsistencies, blah blah blah — it was Edgecombe who delivered. And that’s not a fluke or new occurrence. He’s been doing it all season, regardless of who’s on the court.
Coming into his first NBA season, Edgecombe had never made a game-winner at any level, a fact he revealed after putting back a Maxey miss in the waning seconds of a win over the Golden State Warriors back on Dec. 4. Now, just 27 games into his professional career, he has two game-winners.
But his clutch triple Tuesday wasn’t only unsurprising, it’s become a pattern of sorts. There have been several games this season where Edgecombe is fairly quiet early, letting the game come to him while guys like Maxey and Embiid do their thing, and making non-scoring winning plays. The biggest proof is in Edgecombe’s clutch stats this season.
“Clutch” time is defined as the last five minutes of a game with the score being within five. According to NBA.com, Edgecombe has been in clutch situations in 21 games and 84.4 minutes this season. He’s gone 17-of-28 (60.7%) from the field and 8-of-13 (61.5%) from three. He’s also a +48 … which seems insane. The Sixers are 48 points better than their opponents in clutch situations when Edgecombe is on the floor. That’s preposterous!
Of course, those numbers are in no way sustainable and will come down over the course of the year, but his clutch factor feels far from flukey — and the numbers and eye test back it up.
This could be an inflection point of the season. The Sixers had lost three straight. Their record was 16-14 and they’d slipped to seventh in the East. It’s probably extreme to say their season was on the brink ahead of the New Year, but a fourth straight loss — with two more tough road games against the Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks looming — and creeping closer to .500 with more lingering questions about the team’s Big 3 could’ve spent things spiraling.
Instead, Edgecombe hits that shot, the Sixers win, are 17-14 and have now moved up to fifth in the East — tied in the loss column with the fourth-seeded Toronto Raptors and two games back in the loss column of the third-seeded Boston Celtics. Before the season started, most Sixers fans would’ve gladly signed up for this spot in the standings 31 games in.
Whether it’s health, ineffectiveness or both, the Sixers aren’t likely to get the proper return on investment with Embiid and George’s contracts. It’s another thing that makes Edgecombe’s production so uniquely valuable to the Sixers. He’s doing all of this on a rookie deal. So, while it can certainly be frustrating to see max players not play to that level, the value Edgecombe is providing is immense.
It’s not even slightly hyperbolic to say Edgecombe’s presence changes the entire trajectory of the franchise. He was a high pick, but he’s gleeful in doing the dirty work and little things to help the current team win. He’s the ideal guard to play next to Maxey for the next decade. He’s a deodorant from the stench of the organizational missteps during the Embiid era.
And he’s a winner at 20 years old, an age where he should be making questionable choices and be filled with existential dread about his future.
This is not normal. This is special.
