The Philadelphia 76ers drafted a legitimate franchise building block this past offseason, but they’re going to be without him at least for their next game. VJ Edgecombe was confirmed to have suffered a back injury, and he will be sidelined for the 76ers’ upcoming game against the Utah Jazz, as per Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.
The good news for 76ers fans is that the injury sustained by VJ Edgecombe might not be all that serious as he is expected to be re-evaluated almost immediately before the 76ers’ face off against the Atlanta Hawks. They will play against the Jazz on Wednesday, then have two days off before their clash against the Hawks on Saturday.
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Edgecombe has proven that he is one of the team’s franchise centerpieces moving forward. Edgecombe was the standout during the Rising Stars competition over All-Star Weekend. He was named the MVP of the event after scoring a total of 23 points across the round robin tournament.
He had the game-winning shot in the Rising Stars semifinals to send his team to the championship game, and then he hit a pair of free-throws to seal the win in the title game.
This season, Edgecombe has appeared in 57 games, all starts, at a little over 35 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 15.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals with splits of 42.7 percent shooting from the field, 36.1 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 80.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The 76ers are currently fighting for positioning in the Eastern Conference standings. They are 33-28 and in sixth place in the standings.
