Winning three games after trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter is unsustainable. We know this. The competition has been uneven. I hear you loud and clear. Who cares! This is fun. 

VJ Edgecombe has 89 points and 22 assists in his first four career games. This is the company he keeps. 

https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/NOdQb

We knew about his athleticism. How quickly he covers ground. He has demonstrated it on offense (https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/46690493) and defense (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pG–BZv3xNg). The Sixers haven’t had a player who could do those things since who knows when. 

But it’s more than just that. 

He is confident. He has impressed with look ahead passes that lead to baskets. The first positive offensive play of his career was a drive to collapse the defense before passing to Kelly Oubre for an open three. He is 20 years old, and this doesn’t feel like a mirage. 

Instincts. Feel. However you want to describe it. He knows how to play basketball. 

And maybe he knows how to shoot, too. Twice he has made three-point shots while being fouled. It remains to be seen how real of a shooter he’ll become, but he has done nothing to suggest otherwise. 

Tyrese Maxey is averaging 37.5 points and over eight assists per game. He has made 18 threes already. There is a real chance he becomes the Sixers all-time leader in three-pointers made this season. Maxey has had stretches where he has looked unstoppable, but last year took a toll on him. I mean Maxey started games alongside KJ Martin and Eric Gordon. He didn’t sign up for this when the Sixers gave him a maximum contract in the summer of 2024. Ten times he scored at least 40 points in a regular season or postseason game entering this season. He has already done it twice in four games. 

Maxey needs another ball handler on the court in order to play off-ball as often as possible. After the Sixers traded James Harden, it was the two-man game with Joel Embiid that propelled Maxey to make his first ever All-Star Game. Embiid then missed February and March. The Sixers went into a tailspin because defenses only needed to game plan to stop Maxey. He had his moments, for sure, but life is hard being the only star-level player on your team, which Maxey learned even more so last season. With Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes in the mix (and soon to be Jared McCain, although Maxey and McCain may not play too many minutes together given their heights), things are easier for Maxey. He doesn’t need to have the ball always. His speed is one of his best weapons. It’s effective off the ball, too.  

It is nice to look forward to watching my favorite basketball team again. They won their fourth game a day before December last year. This is fun.