Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe hopes ‘Philly likes Bahamians’ after 76ers take him No. 3 overall in NBA draft

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — VJ Edgecombe experienced hardship throughout his childhood on Bimini, a tiny island in the Bahamas hardly known for developing NBA talent.

Only 19, it wasn’t much more than a decade ago when Edgecombe knew that his basketball talent — developed on the “hard sand” of his native land — could be a way to provide so much more for his family.

“I don’t think anyone on the island would have dreams of playing in the NBA as well as making it,” Edgecombe said. “It would just sound so crazy.”

His crazy dream is set to become a reality in Philadelphia.

In win-now mode, the 76ers selected Edgecombe out of Baylor with the No. 3 overall pick in the NBA draft on Wednesday night to add their trio of oft-injured All-Stars the team hopes can return to form and make the 76ers a healthy title contender.

“Maybe Philly likes Bahamians,” he said this week in New York. “We’ll see.”

The 6-4, 193-pound Edgecombe boasts explosive athleticism that stands out at both ends, notably as an above-the-rim finisher who creates highlight-reel moments.

Edgecombe could be a rookie of the year contender or a rotation player, and his numbers next season won’t matter much if two-time NBA scoring champion Joel Embiid can’t make a successful return from knee surgery. Embiid had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April and was on track to return for training camp.

Team president Daryl Morey said he talked to Embiid earlier Wednesday and the All-Star center was “very engaged, attacking rehab.”

Former All-Stars and Paul George and Tyrese Maxey also slogged through injury-plagued season as the 76ers — a franchise with perennial NBA championship aspirations — finished with a woeful 24-58 record under coach Nick Nurse that included a 5-31 stretch to close the season.

“If we would have left that without a guy who could be a potential All-Star for us, that was going to be really tough,” Morey said.

Morey said he would spend the summer trying make the roster younger and more athletic — Edgecombe could form a next generation Big Three with Maxey and last year’s first-round pick, Jared McCain — to potentially help the team fight off the rash of injuries that wrecked the season and provide a bit of a cushion if veterans Embiid and George are sidelined again for long stretches.

He starts with Edgecombe, picked over Rutgers star Ace Bailey, who canceled a pre-draft workout with the 76ers. Morey said Bailey’s agent and draft team gave the 76ers a “pretty opaque” reason for dropping out.

“I don’t try to judge,” Morey said. “They were doing what they thought was best for them. We were doing what’s best for us. It had no effect on the decision.”

Edgecombe finished in the draft combine’s top 10 with a 38.5-inch max vertical leap, had seven games with at least three made 3s and 11 games with three-plus steals. He shot just 34% on 3s and made just 25% (13 of 59) in off-dribble jumpers, according to Synergy’s analytics rankings.

“We’ve been fortunate that you can get a guy with talent already playing at a high level at Baylor,” Morey said. “And then also has, not only just a hopeful work ethic, you can see when you track back to the Bahamas, and you can track back through his pre-Baylor period all the way through, I think we’re excited about that.”

Edgecombe grew up in the Bahamas and is the the nation’s highest-drafted player since Deandre Ayton was the No. 1 overall pick in 2018.

And now, he’s a guaranteed millionaire.

“Life wasn’t always great,” Edgecombe said. “We weren’t as fortunate as a family. I was living off generators. There’s been nights I was sleeping in the heat, no electricity. Just grateful to be here today.”

Embiid, Maxey and George played all of 15 games together this season and the trio played a combined 119 games. Embiid, the 2023 NBA MVP, played only 19 games. Morey said in April all three should be back at “100%” by training camp.

Edgecombe will be there to greet them with support from afar from a seven-mile island that boasts NBA players and fellow natives Eric Gordon and Buddy Hield. Edgecombe was part of the Bahamian national team that also included Ayton.

“It shows that other kids can make it out,” Edgecombe said. “That’s the main thing. It’s telling the kids they can have confidence and showing them that once you have confidence, one you have faith, it’ll work.”

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