Instant observations: VJ Edgecombe stars in Sixers win over Warriors

VJ Edgecombe had a massive performance in the Sixers‘ 113-94 win over the Warriors, scoring 25 points to go with seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals, leading the way for Philly on a very slow night for Tyrese Maxey.

Here’s what I saw.

VJ Edgecombe throws the Sixers in his backpack

The Warriors made their game plan abundantly clear in the opening five minutes on Tuesday, constantly trapping Tyrese Maxey to get the ball out of his hands. They were going to be content with anyone else on the floor beating them, to the point that they doubled Maxey way out to halfcourt, putting his teammates in four-on-three scenarios all night long. The prime beneficiary was VJ Edgecombe, who bounced back from a tough shooting night in Los Angeles for an important performance on Tuesday.

With the ball swinging to Edgecombe in scramble situations, he put downhill pressure on the Warriors from all angles, drifting to spots in and around the paint while leaning on his midrange jumper. The spacing wasn’t exactly pristine against Golden State — more on that later — so he had to focus on picking his spots and waiting until his defender had conceded enough space toward the rim to rise and fire. Edgecombe was 4/5 from inside the arc in the first half, doing well to buoy the offense with Maxey iced out almost entirely.

The other key to Edgecombe’s success was the work he did in early offense, pushing the pace in transition to avoid spacing problems in the halfcourt. The Sixers often played several questionable or non-shooters at a time, making Golden State’s life easy in the halfcourt. There’s no better way to avoid that problem than beating them down the floor, and Edgecombe got himself going with some dynamic moves on the break, including a tough two scored through Draymond Green at the summit.

Golden State’s aggressive coverage of Maxey eased up a bit in the second half, and yet it was Edgecombe who had it rolling, so the Sixers increasingly played through their star rookie as the game wore on. As we’ve seen in some other big performances this season, his confidence can snowball as the game wears on, and the Warriors never felt like they could get a handle on what he wanted to do next. A baseline pull-up jumper on one possession, a beautiful kick-out for a corner three the next, a three-point make from the trail spot, and then a steal on the other end of the floor, with Edgecombe ripping opportunities away from the Warriors to continue padding the lead.

Edgecombe’s passing has been one of the stories of 2026 for me, with the rookie slowly figuring out how to absorb pressure and make the highest leverage passes possible, rarely telegraphing where he wants to go with the ball. The more comfortable he is at the point of attack, the more rest they can buy for Maxey, and the more dangerous they become in endgame situations. Edgecombe ended up with the ball in what felt like 15 different late-clock situations against Golden State, putting together a highlight reel of pull-up twos and tough buckets at the rim.

Finding the right line of aggression with the full group available is the holy grail for this kid, but even without that, he is the rare rookie who finds ways to impact winning every night. On this night, it was up to him to be the focal point of the offense, and he delivered in a major way.

A lift from the bench

The Adem Bona experience has a lot of frustrating lows, but these games where he puts it all together are exhilarating. Maybe they aren’t as frequent as you’d hope for in year two, but they’re enough to inspire hope that he can put it all together at some point.

Bona’s ability to defend out in space against a small Warriors team was a major asset for the Sixers, allowing them to switch and rotate freely against Golden State’s motion-heavy offense. He had one of his sequences of the season in Tuesday’s first half, blowing up a play along the sidelines before sneaking down the other end for two points, perhaps avoiding an out-of-bounds call in the process. Bona has had some dribbling adventures in recent games, so this was a refreshing change of pace.

A lot of his offensive damage was done as a putback artist, with Bona able to get to a level of the atmosphere the Warriors are miles away from. For all his issues as a defensive rebounder, Bona’s vertical and downhill athleticism are massive weapons on the offensive glass, and he put constant pressure on Golden State’s frontline. A perfect 5/5 mark from the field at halftime spoke volumes about his performance, with Bona causing constant havoc around the basket. And how about a lob sprinkled in:

Adem simply can't stop dunking pic.twitter.com/xxFORZ7RHp

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 4, 2026

He wasn’t the only bench player to give Philadelphia a big lift on Tuesday. Quentin Grimes is off to an excellent start on this trip out west, and they badly needed a lift from Grimes in light of Paul George’s suspension and Grimes’ extended cold spell that plagued him through January. I’m not sure if there is anything specific that has gotten him going, but his approach has been fairly straightforward in these first two games, focused mainly on straight-line drives and catch-and-shoot attempts, the clear strengths of his skill set.

Then we have Trendon Watford, who was a do-it-all producer for the Sixers in this one. I was very pleased with his effort as a rebounder in light of their constant issues on the defensive glass. He is an interesting player who they’re still learning how to use in tandem with their guards and his ability to self-create and shield defenders earned him constant 10-foot runners in the lane, which eventually started dropping after a tough start. As the Sixers made their move to finish off Golden State earlyt

Was there some flukiness to his night? Probably. For every made runner he hit in the lane, there was a missed opportunity to take an open three that a better team would punish with aggressive sagging and better paint protection. But I suppose sustainability is a problem to deal with another time, so a hat tip well-earned for Watford, who looks to be a more important piece of the rotation with George on the shelf.

Rough night for Drummond

How you feel about Andre Drummond as a Sixers big probably depends on how closely you’ve kept up with the team this season. For the people who tuned in for the opening month or so, it was a reminder of the player they had before the James Harden trade, a genuine starter-level player who was an elite backup for Joel Embiid. For anyone who has watched from roughly December 1st onward, Drummond has been a destructive force who doesn’t help them in any meaningful way. Unfortunately, they need him to offer some minutes on an Embiid-less night, and he was horrific against the Warriors on Tuesday.

Philadelphia was rolling in the second quarter, going on a 26-6 run to gain what looked like firm control of the game. In came Drummond, who evidently decided it was Andre Drummond Time in advance of the deadline. Possession one was an attempt to foul bait on the baseline that went awry, with Drummond throwing the ball moderately near the basket for a turnover. The next play was a turnover on a bounce pass through traffic to Quentin Grimes, followed by a missed corner three the next time down. Less than a minute later, he came down with an offensive rebound (good!) and then airballed the shot attempt that followed (not good). For each bozo play from Drummond, the Warriors came up with an easy bucket the other way, turning a double-digit lead into a deadlocked game in mere minutes.

Nurse was willing to pull Drummond in favor of small ball to end the first half, but he went right back to the veteran to open the second half, who promptly bricked his first shot attempt, a jump hook from about seven feet out, only bailed out by a Dominick Barlow offensive rebound. They won in spite of the nonsense, but if he is moved for salary relief at the deadline, I can’t say I’ll miss his recent run of form.

Other notes

— Tyrese Maxey, even if you factor in the aggressive trapping, was not very good in this game. Winning this game with this version of Maxey and no Embiid/George says a lot about the current state of the Warriors. Yuck!