V.J. Edgecombe may be only in his second NBA season, but he’s already carrying himself like a veteran in the Philadelphia 76ers’ locker room. The youngest player in the starting lineup has quickly become the kind of teammate who lifts everyone around him, and that includes Joel Embiid.
That support matters because Embiid has had stretches where his confidence appears to dip. Edgecombe doesn’t see it that way. To him, Embiid is still the same overwhelming force who has battled through injuries and remained a star, and he makes sure Embiid hears that message often.
After the 76ers’ win over the Raptors, Edgecombe explained exactly how he talks to Embiid when the big man needs a boost.
"I tell him all the time, you were the MVP of the league bro. You’re that good.
I always tell him nobody can't stop him. There’s not one person in the NBA that can guard you.
You can face up, back to the basket, nobody can guard you. He knows it,"
Edgecombe’s approach says a lot about where he is mentally. He’s the least experienced player in the 76ers’ core group, but he doesn’t act like it. He stays in his lane, keeps encouraging his teammates and understands how much a simple reminder can matter when a star is going through a rough patch.
That kind of internal support is exactly what the 76ers need. If they keep building each other up, they give themselves a chance to become a problem for anybody on the schedule.
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Powell was the kind of veteran stopgap the Sixers could have used as they try to survive the long stretch of the season without overtaxing Embiid. Instead, they will likely have to keep looking for another body and another layer of insurance at center, because the current options do not offer much security if the rotation gets tested again. [Read more 🡒]
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For a team that has already had to navigate absences, the win carried extra value as Philadelphia improved to 10-3 and kept itself on track in the Eastern Conference race. The Sixers also did it with a shortened rotation, while Toronto was missing key pieces of its own, making Embiids early scare feel like the kind of subplot that could have changed the entire feel of the night. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Got The Relief They Needed After Joel Embiid's Early Scare
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Embiid did return, and Philadelphia steadied itself enough to pull away for a 123-112 win after a sluggish start. Tyrese Maxey and Anfernee Simons helped spark the offense with key plays when the Sixers needed them most, turning what could have been a nervous night into a much-needed result. [Read more 🡒]