We decided to share this article with readers of BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, which has a huge following among the Bahamian diaspora across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom as well as in The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean. The Nassau Guardian published this article by Sheldon Longley on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. The article can be found here.
Matt Slocum – AP
Sheldon Longley
Guardian Sports Editor
slongley@nasguard.com
The votes are in, and the sensational season by Valdez ‘VJ’ Edgecombe Jr. has been validated.
Edgecombe finished third in voting for the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Rookie of the Year Award, as determined by a panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, on Monday.
The Bahamian first-year professional player didn’t receive a first-place vote, had one second-place vote and 93 third-place votes for 96 total points. Cooper Flagg, of the Dallas Mavericks, edged former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel of Charlotte, for the top spot.
Flagg had 56 first-place votes and 44 second-place votes to finish with 412 total points. Knueppel garnered 43 first-place votes, 55 second-place votes and one third-place vote to finish with 386 points.
Flagg, the number one overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft, was the first rookie since Michael Jordan in 1984-85 to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. He also led all rookies in scoring, was second in assists, in a four-way tie for second in steals and fourth in rebounds.
He and Knueppel became the first former college teammates to finish first and second in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting since University of Connecticut stars Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon in the 2004-05 season.
Knueppel helped lead the Hornets to a 25-game improvement from the 2024-2025 season, and to the NBA’s Play-In Tournament. He was the first rookie to lead the NBA in three-pointers made, setting a rookie record of 273, and he averaged 18.5 points while shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from three-point range. He finished second among all rookies in scoring.
Edgecombe had arguably the best-ever debut professional season for a Bahamian athlete.
The 20-year-old shooting guard started 75 games of 75 games played for the Philadelphia 76ers this year. Edgecombe averaged 16 points per game while shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three-point range.
Edgecombe led all rookies in minutes played at 35 per night, and added 5.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Edgecombe also led all rookies in steals. He finished third among rookies in scoring, third in assists and seventh in rebounding.
Edgecombe was drafted third overall out of Baylor University, and Knueppel was taken fourth. Flagg was the top pick, and the other two top five picks from last year’s draft were Rutgers’ teammates Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.
With the Sixers’ Big Three of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George having their share of injuries, and in the case of George, a 25-game suspension this year, Edgecombe had to shoulder the load many nights for the Sixers, and he stepped up to the plate.
He started the season with 34 points on the road against the Boston Celtics, shooting 13-for-26 from the field and 5-for-13 from three-point range. He became the first rookie with 30-plus points and five or more three-pointers in a debut, set a franchise record for most points in a debut game, and had the most points in an NBA debut game in 51 years – since Wilt Chamberlain scored 43 in 1959. He also had the third-highest scoring debut in NBA history, trailing just Chamberlain’s 43 in 1959 and Frank Selvy’s 35 in 1954.
Edgecombe later improved his career-high to 38 points, knocking down 16 of 28 shots and going 3-for-7 from three-point range against the Sacramento Kings in March. That started a four-game stretch in which Edgecombe averaged 29.25 points, eight rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.25 steals per game, leading the Sixers to a 3-1 win/loss record in those four games.
Edgecombe was named NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for March.
In the playoffs, Edgecombe is averaging 14.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game against the Celtics while shooting 40.3 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from long range. Edgecombe had 30 points and 10 rebounds in game two against the Celtics, and became the youngest player in NBA history to record a 30-point, 10-rebound playoff game. He was also the first rookie with a 30/10 playoff game since Tim Duncan in 1998, and the first rookie ever with 30 or more points, 10 or more rebounds, and five three-pointers in a playoff game.