Philadelphia 76ers rookie guard VJ Edgecombe scored 34 points in Wednesday night’s 117-116 season-opener road victory over the Boston Celtics — the most by a player in a debut since Wilt Chamberlain.
“I worked every day, and all my life, for moments like this. This is my dream,” Edgecombe said after putting up 34 points in his first NBA career game.
“I prayed for this. I always prayed to make it to the NBA and to stay in the NBA. Man, yeah, that was crazy. That surpassed my expectation, to be honest.”
VJ Edgecombe Scored Third-Most Points In NBA Debut Game
Edgecombe, 20, scored the third-most points by 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 game against the New York Knicks. 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.
VJ EDGECOMBE JUST HAD THE MOST POINTS IN AN NBA DEBUT SINCE WILT CHAMBERLAIN 🚨🚨🚨
34 for the #3 pick… 3rd highest-scoring debut ever in the @sixers win! pic.twitter.com/xwjvqMZcsH
— NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2025
“THAT’S A DEBUT, 77!” pic.twitter.com/Cm7Bxu3wlo
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 23, 2025
“That’s an amazing first-game performance. It really is,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “That’s a neat list to get on.”
Edgecombe finished 13-of-26 (50%) shooting from the field and 5-for-13 (38.5%) from 3-point range, adding seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 42 minutes as a starter.
The 6-foot-5 guard scored 10 straight Sixers points in the first quarter and scored nine in the fourth, when Philadelphia eliminated a 13-point deficit to win its season opener.
Edgecombe Broke One Of LeBron James’ Rookie Records
Per ESPN Stats & Information, Edgecombe’s 14 first-quarter points were also the most 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.”
In addition, All-Star teammate Tyrese Maxey scored a game-high 40 points.
The 74 combined points by Edgecombe and Maxey were tied for the second most by a duo in a season opener in NBA history, trailing only James Harden and Christian Wood’s 75 points for the Houston Rockets in 2020.
“He played really well,” Maxey said about Edgecombe’s incredible outing. “He was really comfortable. He was really confident. Extremely confident.”
The 76ers selected Edgecombe with the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft. He won Big 12 Rookie of the Year in his only season at Baylor after averaging 15 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.1 steals in 33 games.
The Sixers host the Charlotte Hornets next on Saturday.
