Inside the 76ers’ celebratory postgame locker room late Thursday, VJ Edgecombe received a phone call from Buddy Hield.
That would not normally occur between two players who had just faced off in a wild thriller. But it is not hyperbole to conclude that Edgecombe may never have made his game-winning plays against the Golden State Warriors — a steal, then a go-ahead putback in the final 8.2 seconds of a night that swung from Sixers blowout, to disastrous collapse, to chaotic 99-98 victory — without attending Hield’s basketball camps in their native Bahamas as a teenager.
Thursday’s crazy finish capped the first night that Hield, a respected 10-year sharpshooter, and Edgecombe, an electric two-way rookie, shared the floor as NBA peers. Edgecombe finished with 10 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals; Hield with 14 points, eight rebounds, and two steals. And as the postgame hubbub continued to swirl around them, Edgecombe and Hield met at center court to exchange jerseys.
“I love Buddy with all my heart,” Edgecombe later told The Inquirer. “ … He always had faith in me, and always was teaching me little points about the game.”
This Sixers-Warriors matchup was coincidentally full of reunions. Hield played 32 games for the Sixers after being acquired at the 2024 trade deadline. Tyrese Maxey’s game-saving block after Edgecombe’s bucket came against former teammate De’Anthony Melton, who spent a couple hours at Maxey’s home Wednesday to catch up as friends before making his season debut following knee surgery. Seth Curry and Al Horford are also former Sixers, and received drastically different receptions from the home crowd. So is Jimmy Butler, who sat out Thursday’s game with a knee injury.
But none of those players’ ties boast the roots of Edgecombe and Hield, who both described their relationship as little brother-big brother.
Edgecombe first attended Hield’s camp as a 13-year-old, aka the “smallest kid there” among a group of mostly high school juniors and seniors. But Hield immediately noticed Edgecombe’s skill and eagerness to be good. Then, Edgecombe hit a growth spurt and added muscle to his frame.
“The next year, I see him on the rim dunking on people,” Hield recalled to The Inquirer before Thursday’s game. “I was like, ‘Oh, [expletive]. He’s going to be really good.’”
Throughout the years, Hield kept in touch with Edgecombe to “[make] sure I was always good,” the rookie said. Hield would emphasize staying confident and working hard.
Then, Edgecombe and Hield became Bahamas teammates for the 2024 Olympics Qualifiers. On a roster that also included fellow Sixer Eric Gordon and Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton, Edgecombe provided “an aggressive downhill energy that we didn’t have,” Hield said. The team would allow a pre-college Edgecombe to run pick-and-roll after pick-and-roll, trusting that he would either draw a foul while attacking the basket or kick out to an open Hield at the three-point arc.
Edgecombe’s performance in that high-pressure environment, while playing against grown men, helped ignite his ascension to coveted NBA Draft prospect. Then came his successful season at Baylor, an impressive pre-draft process, and becoming the Sixers’ pick at No. 3 overall.
“I was like, ‘Man, I watched this kid grow up,’” Hield said. “That’s kind of dope, you know what I mean?”
Through the first quarter of the regular season, Edgecombe has been one of the league’s top rookies.
He scored 34 points in a historic NBA debut. He has been an impact player on both ends of the floor for a 12-9 Sixers team that is now guard-heavy and stressing a fast-paced style. He regularly ignites the crowd with his high-flying athleticism. He entered Thursday averaging 14.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.4 steals in 17 games, before some recent limitations due to a calf issue.
Before Thursday’s matchup, a grinning Hield vowed he would “go at [Edgecombe] and test that water.” But other than a 27-second stretch to close the first quarter, they were never on the floor at the same time until that wild final frame. They approached each other when they came back to the court following the quarter break. Edgecombe trash-talked Hield’s “fake defense,” before playfully shoving him to create space to receive the inbound pass.
And though Edgecombe struggled for much of Thursday’s game, coach Nick Nurse put the rookie back in for crunch time. Edgecombe has already earned the Sixers’ trust with his knack for clutch plays.
So while preparing for a defensive possession with his team trailing, 98-97, with 10.1 seconds remaining, Edgecombe knew the Warriors were out of timeouts. He tried to read Pat Spencer’s eyes, because “people tend to telegraph their passes a lot.”
“He had to throw the ball somewhere,” Edgecombe said. “Everyone was just in that one little spot, and I just dove on the ball, to be honest.”
That gave the Sixers an opportunity for a final-possession shot, with Edgecombe making the inbound pass. His plan was to “give the ball to Tyrese, and get out of the way.” But when Maxey’s fadeaway jumper was tipped by Melton and began to fall well short of the rim, Edgecombe darted in to secure the putback.
Then Edgecombe sprinted the opposite direction as Melton attempted his own breakaway game-winner, and flexed after Maxey swatted the ball away.
“It’s what he does,” Maxey said of Edgecombe. “ … Whatever it takes for us to win the game, I know he’s going to make a play.”
Hield, meanwhile, had already entered the day proud that Edgecombe had become the latest Bahamian who, by making the NBA, could take care of his family and bring joy to his community and home country.
But after that wild finish — which capped the first time Edgecombe and Hield shared the floor as NBA peers — Hield needed to call his little brother.
“It brings more life to the youth, to uplift them,” Hield said of Edgecombe’s success. “For them to be like, ‘Yo, VJ did it. I can do it, too.’ They’re trying to write their stories, too.
“So I just hope he keeps on inspiring young kids, like I did for him.”
