After the first round of the 2025 NBA draft, Sixers president Daryl Morey revealed why they took Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe at No. 3 instead of Rutgers forward Ace Bailey.
For most of the past year, Duke forward Cooper Flagg, Rutgers guard Dylan Harper and Rutgers forward Ace Bailey were widely considered to be the top three prospects in the 2025 NBA draft class. The top of the draft board held to form Wednesday night, as the Dallas Mavericks took Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick, and the San Antonio Spurs selected Harper at No. 2. However, the Philadelphia 76ers deviated at No. 3 and took Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe ahead of Bailey.
Right after the draft lottery in mid-May, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo projected the Sixers to take Bailey at No. 3 rather than Edgecombe. But as the draft drew closer, it became increasingly clear that Edgecombe was their guy.
After the first round of the draft Wednesday, team president Daryl Morey explained what drew the Sixers toward Edgecombe rather than Bailey.
«Above and beyond what you can see on the floor, the thing we spend a lot of time on—and I will say, it’s very hard to forecast with 18-year-olds, 19-year-olds, 20-year-olds», Morey told reporters. «We don’t think we have some crystal ball. But where we can get more confidence that a player has two things, which is they understand that they’re not where they need to be. They understand they’re not yet, you know, pick your All-Star guard in the league. And then they have the work ethic to close that gap. If a player has that, that’s very interesting to us.»What Gave Edgecombe the Edge?
Edgecombe spent only one season at Baylor, but he took a clear leap as the season progressed. He started the year by making his mark defensively—he averaged 2.5 steals and 1.3 blocks over his first 10 games—and then he grew more aggressive on offense from there.
While he still has some work to do on improving his ball-handling and pull-up shooting, Morey believes his athleticism and off-the-catch shooting ability gives him both a high floor and a high ceiling.
