The Sixers made it official Monday evening: they picked up VJ Edgecombe’s third-year team option, locking in a $12,219,840 salary for the 2027-28 season.
The move had to be made by the end of October, and for Philadelphia it was about as straightforward as these decisions get. Edgecombe arrived as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and then went out and delivered one of the best rookie seasons in franchise history.
His game quickly caught on with the Sixers’ fan base. Edgecombe brought end-to-end speed, high-end athleticism, a fierce competitive edge, strong defense and late-game shot-making that made him impossible to ignore. By season’s end, he had logged more than 3,000 minutes between the regular season and playoffs, a heavy workload that reflected how much the organization trusted him right away.
That trust came from Nick Nurse, who mapped out a role that let Edgecombe stay on the floor as much as possible and develop in real time. After the Sixers were eliminated from the playoffs in May, Nurse was effusive about what he had seen from the rookie.
"That was a hell of an impressive rookie season," Nurse said after the Sixers' playoff elimination in May. "I mean, he's a hell of a player, and it's not about shooting, scoring, jumping, any of that stuff.
He really knows how to play. He really has a leadership quality to him.
I think he's a big-time winner. Works really hard.
I mean, I think it was an incredible season for him, and just - really, really, like, future's really bright, because of some of the amazing intangibles that he has."
Tyrese Maxey also made clear how much Edgecombe means inside the locker room. In February, Maxey praised not just the rookie’s ability, but the person he is off the court.
"I love VJ. I think everybody knows that.
It's pretty evident. And [it’s] not just because of his basketball abilities, but who he is as a person," backcourt mate Tyrese Maxey said in February.
"His family [is] a really good family, comes from a good place, and we just appreciate him here. We're blessed to have him.
Our season was very, very, very, very bad last year - injuries and all those different things played a part in it - but we're blessed with VJ Edgecombe, and I think as a Sixers organization, as a fan base, we should be very happy, very pleased, and very thankful. I know I am.
I'm extremely thankful for him."
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