Former LuHi star and 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe excels against Knicks in Madison Square Garden debut

VJ Edgecombe played in tournaments all over the country with Long Island Lutheran. In his lone season at Baylor, he played in 10 different states and even in his native Bahamas.

He had never played at Madison Square Garden until Friday night, but the 76ers rookie proved he’s built for the big stage. Edgecombe had 23 points, three rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in Philadelphia’s 116-107 win over the Knicks.

Edgecombe, who graduated from LuHi in 2024, was selected by the 76ers with the third pick in the 2025 NBA Draft in June. In 23 games, all as a starter, he is averaging 15.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He’s shooting 42.9% from the field and 39.3% from three-point range.

“The adjustment to the pro game has been going well,” Edgecombe said after Friday’s game. “It’s pros, the best players in the world. . . . I want to be the best player ever, so I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Edgecombe made several key plays late in the fourth quarter. He scored seven points in the final four minutes, including a two-hand putback dunk to give the 76ers a 113-105 lead with 1:38 left. Two plays later, he dived on a loose ball and fired a pass from his back to Jared McCain, who found Tyrese Maxey for a dagger three-pointer with 47.9 seconds left.

“I just try to play hard, to be honest,” said Edgecombe, who had 26 points on Saturday night in the 76ers’ 121-114 win over Dallas. “That’s the main thing. I want to win. I’m diving on the floor, diving in the crowd. Whatever it takes for me to win. I think last. I just go and do it.”

The 20-year-old also played stellar defense on Jalen Brunson, who scored 22 points but shot 7-for-22 from the field and 1-for-7 from three-point range.

“He’s great. I think we saw that even in preseason and saw that he was going to be a force to be reckoned with,” Brunson said. “He’s always in attack mode, and the plays he made at the end of the game, he looked very comfortable. He looked very confident. You never see a lack of confidence from him.

“It’s great to see just from a basketball standpoint. Obviously, when you’re competing against him, you hope he doesn’t make those plays, but I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”

Edgecombe was a two-time Newsday Long Island Player of the Year and a two-time Gatorade New York Player of the Year. He averaged 15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 steals in 33 games at Baylor.

“He’s super-athletic, aggressive,’’ Josh Hart said. “He’ll be really good.”

The 6-4, 180-pound shooting guard announced his presence in the 76ers’ season opener, recording 34 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal in a 117-116 win over the Celtics. It was the most points  by a player in his NBA debut since Wilt Chamberlain’s 43 points in 1959.

In his first return to New York, Edgecombe had 16 points, two rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 129-105 win over the Nets at  Barclays Center on Nov. 2.

“He’s got a real feel for the game. Just talking to him a little bit, he really was enamored with it as a youngster,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “He knows a lot of history. He watched a lot of games. He’s got a good feel, I think, from immersing himself in the game at a young age. He still surprises you all the time with the things he does athletically. He’s a worker. His character is high. He’s a great teammate. There’s a long list of positives there that have just enabled him to fit right in.”

By Matt Lindsay

matt.lindsay@newsday.com@mattlinds19

Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.