NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers selected Baylor freshman guard VJ Edgecombe with the third overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night. The 19-year-old Edgecombe had an outstanding season for the Bears, averaging 15 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

VJ Edgecombe experienced hardship throughout his childhood on Bimini, a tiny island in the Bahamas hardly known for developing NBA talent.Only 19, it wasn't much more than a decade ago when Edgecombe knew that his basketball talent — developed on the “hard sand” of his native land — could be a way to provide so much more for his family.