76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe scores 34 points in opener, most in NBA debut since Wilt Chamberlain

BOSTON (AP) – VJ Edgecombe’s eyes widened and his head lolled back against his locker when he was told that he’d just scored more points than any player in his NBA debut since Wilt Chamberlain first laced up his canvas high-tops.

“I worked every day, and all my life, for moments like this. This is my dream,” the Philadelphia 76ers rookie said after scoring 34 points in his first pro game, a 117-116 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

“I prayed for this. I always prayed to make it to the NBA and to stay in the NBA,” Edgecombe said. “Man, yeah, that was crazy. That surpassed my expectation, to be honest.”

A native of the Bahamas who was the Big 12 Rookie of the Year in his only season at Baylor, Edgecombe scored the third-most points an NBA player in his first game. Chamberlain scored 43 points in his debut in 1959 for the Philadelphia Warriors, and also had 28 rebounds that night against New York. Frank Selvy scored 35 points for the Milwaukee Hawks against Boston in 1954.

Allen Iverson held the Sixers’ record with 30 points in his debut in 1996.

“That’s an amazing first-game performance. It really is,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “That’s a neat list to get on.”

Edgecombe’s 14 first-quarter points were also the most ever for a player’s first NBA quarter. That record had been set by LeBron James in 2003.

“It feels good to have my name mentioned with LeBron,” Edgecombe said. “I must say, it’s amazing. But hopefully (I’m) going to have a long career ahead of me. That’s what mattered most, man: longevity. Knowing LeBron has been there for 20-plus years. So I’m hoping I can do that one day.”

Edgecombe went 13 of 26 from the field and 5 for 13 from 3-point range, adding seven rebounds three assists and a steal. He scored 10 straight Sixers points in the first quarter, and scored nine in the fourth, when Philadelphia erased a 13-point deficit to win their season opener.

Sixers forward Dominick Barlow said what he remembers from his debut, when he scored two points for San Antonio in a 43-point loss after missing the first eight games of the season, was “I played 10 minutes. I was tired as hell, went 1 for 3. Didn’t do nothing.”

“He was just so composed and so calm. You don’t see it,” said Barlow, who was a teammate of 2023 No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama with the Spurs. “That was special, to see how (Edgecombe) carries himself.”

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey also praised the rookie.

“He played really well. He was really comfortable. He was really confident. Extremely confident,” said Maxey, whose memories of his first game was stepping out of bounds with the ball on his first play.

And the All-Star guard made sure to rib Edgecombe for missing two free throws with 8.5 seconds left and the Sixers holding a one-point lead, shouting across the locker room at him: “Hey, (No.) 77. You definitely a little nervous at the free throw line.”