Instant observations: VJ Edgecombe sets Sixers rookie record with 34 points in win over Celtics

VJ Edgecombe set the Sixers record for points in a rookie debut, scoring 34 points in a hard-fought 117-116 win over the Boston Celtics. His debut goes down as one of the best in the history of pro basketball in North America, the third-best in NBA history, and the highest-scoring outing for a rookie in his first game since 1959.

Oh yeah, Tyrese Maxey had a 40-ball of his own to lead the way for Philadelphia, powering the Sixers to an improbable come-from-behind win on the road against their bitter rivals.

Here’s what I saw.

The backcourt goes absolutely crazy

I am going to need to have a long, hard conversation with Baylor head coach Scott Drew about what happened during VJ Edgecombe’s lone college basketball season. It seems insane that we spent a good chunk of the pre-draft process wondering whether Edgecombe had it in him to even take “star shots,” let alone make them at a reasonable clip. Sharing the floor with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, a recent MVP and All-Star, it was Edgecombe who showed up ready to seize control of the team. How could this be the same guy who frequently had Robert Wright push him to the side last year?

To give Nick Nurse some credit, there were some immediate tactical changes to the offense that seemed geared toward giving Edgecombe and Maxey more downhill space. Embiid was asked to set screens much higher than I can remember being typical for their offense, which meant that if Edgecombe could gain separation on the initial pick, he had a long runway to gain speed on his way to the rim. And if the Celtics did not get the memo ahead of the game, they understood within the first three minutes of the game that No. 77 was coming rumbling down the lane with bad intentions.

Even without the assistance of the big man’s screens, Edgecombe was out for blood when he got a favorable matchup on the perimeter. Xavier Tillman was the unfortunate soul left on an island against Edgecombe midway through the first quarter, and Edgecombe hit him with a mean left-to-right crossover before turning the ball over and slamming while Jaylen Brown did everything in his power to get the hell out of the way:

VJ EDGECOMBE — WELCOME TO PHILADELPHIA!!!pic.twitter.com/QF5mFXELgf

— PHLY Sixers (@PHLY_Sixers) October 22, 2025

Edgecombe dominating with open space in front of him is not exactly surprising. But the early momentum he picked up from dunks, layups, and free throws quickly turned into confidence from beyond the three-point line. He hit three triples in the first quarter, his confidence seemingly growing with each new make, and it always felt like he made the right decision within the flow of the offense. This wasn’t a rookie losing sight of the team or the offense, but the ball finding energy, with Edgecombe sliding into the right spots and stepping into jumpers with confidence.

One of the more impressive parts of this game for me is that Edgecombe had to weather a cold spell from deep smack dab in the middle of the game. As Philadelphia’s offense sputtered something fierce, Edgecombe was tossed a lot of late-clock grenades and essentially begged by his vets to shoot. But he possessed the confidence to just shoot his way through it, eventually hitting some big fourth-quarter threes to pull Philadelphia back within striking distance.

It was, in other words, exactly what we heard from Sixers players and coaches throughout the preseason. Even when in-game results weren’t there, they raved about Edgecombe’s work behind the scenes and their confidence that he could be trusted to start and produce right away. He over-delivered and then some in his first game for the Sixers, cementing himself as a featured player no matter who is available. This is, statistically, the greatest rookie debut in franchise history.

And then there was Tyrese Maxey. Remember him? He had a fairly pedestrian start to the game, falling out of the “flow state” he mentioned in the preseason to muster just three points. There was even some overzealous complaining to officials that undermined the Sixers in transition defense, a frustrating reminder of many Philly losses last season. But instead of getting mad, Maxey got even.

The second quarter was owned by Mr. Maxey — he waltzed into halftime with 22 points on just 13 shots, and he unloaded the full arsenal against the Celtics on their home floor. Speed layups on transition blow-bys, runners in traffic when Boston closed too hard on his jumper, a few free throws on physical drives to the hoop, and a perfect half from beyond the three-point line. There was a stretch where you simply knew he was not going to pass the ball, that he was ready to lull a defender into his happy place before uncorking a stepback three, and letting the whole city of Boston hear about it afterward:

b2b triples gives @TyreseMaxey 1️⃣7️⃣ points in Q2. pic.twitter.com/RELUL1Q69O

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 23, 2025

You expect more of this attitude from Maxey because he is beginning his sixth year and is a star himself, but I love that these two young guards showed absolutely no hesitation to seize the team for themselves and put on a show on opening night. They are the present and future of the organization, and they should continue to carry themselves like it.

Perhaps the real headline is what they managed to do with the game seemingly out of reach in the fourth quarter. Maxey basically shot the Sixers back into this game by himself, hitting a barrage of threes in the middle portion of the fourth quarter to set up the closing kick. Nick Nurse turned to a small lineup for the duration of the stretch run, empowering the three-man combo of Maxey, Edgecombe, and Grimes to bring them home.

What a night!

Joel Embiid — what would you say you do here?

I can’t exactly say that everyone overreacted to one preseason Embiid game and then draw sweeping conclusions from one regular-season game. That being said, this will rank among my least favorite Embiid games in recent memory, and I would go as far as to say that he actively hurt the team on multiple fronts.

Let’s start with the offense. This was not the pass-happy player we saw late last week, but a slow, meandering player trying to find his place as the rest of the team attempted to play at warp speed. He struggled to generate leverage in the post, his feel against Celtics double teams was poor, and his shooting touch evaded him as the cherry on top of that sundae.

Worse yet, I thought they made a deliberate attempt to get him going with the way they set up on offense in the third quarter. Gone were the high pick-and-rolls designed to help out the guards, with Embiid moving closer to the rim and demanding more touches. To no one’s surprise, the offense came to a screeching halt, leading to a lot of difficult Embiid shots or late-clock attempts for his teammates. With the Celtics able to get out and run, their woes from beyond the three-point line began to melt away.

(Here’s where my first Nurse complaint of the season comes in — this offense just completely self-destructed in the third quarter, with or without Embiid on the floor. The same brand of side-to-side passing with no movement and no passing creeped in as they fell further and further behind the Celtics. Not great.)

You could argue Embiid was even worse at the other end of the floor. Embiid was perpetually late to close out on shooters, and certainly did not bring his A-game in transition defense. There was a run-out for Boston in the third quarter where Embiid was back to meet a streaking Jaylen Brown and took a long, lazy swing to foul him, not impacting the attempt as Brown scored the hoop and added a made free throw in the process.

I could have lived with a down shooting performance and signs of rust as an offensive hub. Embiid is a notoriously slow starter and usually takes a week or two (if not more) to really get going. But I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t worried about how off the pace he looked physically after a month’s worth of messaging proclaiming that he looked and felt good. Embiid was stuck in the mud for a lot of this game and watched from the sideline during the meaningful comeback Philadelphia made in the final quarter. He was at the end of his 20-minute limit, and for once, that ended up working in Philadelphia’s favor.

Dominick Barlow brings preseason success to the regular season

Is Dominick Barlow going to get a standard NBA contract by Thanksgiving? Would Christmas be too long to wait? This guy was one of the great stories of the preseason, and he translated everything we saw in the exhibition slate to game results against Philadelphia’s most-hated rival.

Philadelphia has been on the wrong end of what feels like every rebounding battle over the last 3-5 years, but they were noticeably improved in that department in their first game of the season, with Barlow imposing his will on the offensive glass time and time again. The Sixers were the team constantly finding second-chance opportunities, with Barlow either tipping the ball out to teammates on the perimeter or gathering under the basket to play through contact around the rim.

Better yet, I thought he showed an impressive level of timing and patience when he was asked to make decisions with the basketball. He was left with work to do on several transition run-outs on Wednesday night, and Barlow did well to slow down, survey the defense, and find the soft spot in Boston’s defense. It was excellent, opportunistic basketball.

Frankly, when Paul George returns to the lineup, Barlow was good enough that I think it could be a fairly easy call to demote Kelly Oubre to the bench.

Other notes

— Bumping Kelly Oubre down a spot or two in the rotation is a big priority, IMO. He made his first three of the game and then spent the rest of the night building a house of bricks. Making him a nailed-on starter compounds their spacing questions, even if I would still agree he is one of their best defenders. Bring him and his energy off the bench.

That said, he has the guts to take and make a huge three in crunch time at the end of a brutal night, and I respect the cojones it takes to rise up and can one in that spot.

— I honestly feel pretty good about the forward position if they get an even semi-good Embiid this year. Barlow and Walker are good dirty work players, and Trendon Watford is a nice gadget option with point forward skills if his hamstring ever heals.

— Pretty brutal night for Quentin Grimes, whose shooting touch was off all night. I’d still rather see him start over Oubre.