VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey are about to step into the postseason together for the first time, and the 76ers need that partnership to travel with them. Philadelphia is scheduled to face the Orlando Magic in a play-in tournament matchup on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on Prime Video.
That pairing has already carried more of the season than anyone expected. Maxey has played at an All-NBA level, while Edgecombe, the third overall pick after Philadelphia’s very bad 2024-25 season and some lottery luck, has moved into the conversation as a first-year player likely to finish third on an exceptional Rookie of the Year ballot. With Joel Embiid out while recovering from an emergency appendectomy last week, the Sixers are leaning harder than ever on the guard they built around and the rookie they hope can grow into the same kind of force.
The two have also shown a chemistry that goes beyond box scores. Earlier this month, in a joint postgame interview in Washington, Maxey joked after checking the stat sheet that Edgecombe had only one defensive rebound. Edgecombe laughed and told him he was “just trying to make life easier for my dog right here.” Maxey answered that they “have this chip on our shoulder,” and said Edgecombe does not care about his points or his stats, only winning, which is why they get along so well.
Edgecombe, for his part, has been direct about what it means to learn next to Maxey. He called him one of the best players in the NBA and said his own goal is to become a superstar, because watching Maxey gives him a clearer sense of the steps it takes to get there. Maxey had already been familiar with Edgecombe before Philadelphia picked him, after seeing clips of him dunking on Joe Few and talking trash while playing with Buddy Hield for the Bahamian national team.
The postseason picture around them is complicated. Paul George recently returned from a 25-game NBA suspension for violating the league’s antidrug policy, giving Philadelphia another veteran option just as the games start to matter most. But the center of gravity remains the same: Maxey and Edgecombe have fueled the Sixers as both a present-day contender and a team already looking at what comes next. On Wednesday, that relationship gets its biggest test yet.
