The Philadelphia 76ers retooled their roster this offseason, bringing in star players like LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to add to established stars in Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. But one player whom fans and pundits have wondered where he will fall in the pecking order is second-year 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe.

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, VJ Edgecombe put up an all rookie season for the 76ers this past year. He was a starter from day one and he established himself as a potential franchise cornerstone. But all the veteran star power around him, is it possible that his voice gets drowned out this season? Not so fast, as per Chris Hine of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Edgecombe is very much so a respected voice by his peers.

“I have men around me that’s really respectful, and they hear me out so they don’t just shut me down,” Edgecombe said. “It’s just important that I always make my voice heard because we live in a world where people try to lessen your voice and I’m not going for that.”

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Although Dallas Mavericks budding star Cooper Flagg eventually won the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award, Edgecombe was making a legit case for himself during the early portion of the 2025-26 season. He was started from day one, playing in 75 games at just about 35 minutes per game.

He averaged 16.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.4 steals with splits of 43.8 percent shooting from the field, 35.4 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 81.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line. He came in third in the Rookie of the Year voting behind only Flagg and Charlotte Hornets wing Kon Knueppel.