Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe takes torch for Bahamas basketball

NBA guard Buddy Hield was initially hesitant before relenting when one of his trusted colleagues suggested adding a 13-year-old to his first Elite 24 boys’ basketball camp showcasing the best Bahamian boys in 2019. Now six years later, that same kid has grown to become Philadelphia 76ers rookie guard VJ Edgecombe.

“He was like 13 years old, and the campers were [mostly] 16- and 17-year-olds,” Hield told Andscape. “I was like, ‘I don’t want any little kids.’ A guy named John March was like, ‘This little kid from Bimini, he’s like 13 years old but he is really good. Give him a chance.’ After I said I didn’t want little kids I circled back and said, ‘You know what, bring him.’ That kid was always me. At 13, I always wanted to play up and never wanted to play little.

“We were freaking out. But we brought him and he was surprisingly one of the better kids in the camp. It’s crazy. He was the light of the camp. He was young, but everyone saw the flashes. … He was playing against the elite high school kids in The Bahamas and was holding his own. And then he just took off.”

The 76ers drafted Edgecombe with the third overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft. The former Baylor star averaged 15 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game as a freshman last season.

Philadelphia announced that Edgecombe has been diagnosed with a left thumb sprain and is out for tonight’s NBA Summer League game in Las Vegas. He is participating in on-court workouts during his absence and will be reevaluated on Saturday.

In his debut at the Salt Lake City Summer League on July 5, Edgecombe had 28 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks in a 93-89 loss to the Utah Jazz. He has missed the past two games with the thumb injury.

In Edgecombe, The Bahamas added the latest talented basketball player to the Caribbean island’s NBA history. Bahamian Mychal Thompson was drafted No. 1 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1978 and is the father of Dallas Mavericks sharpshooter Klay Thompson. Three-time NBA champion Rick Fox is from The Bahamas. Other notable Bahamians currently in the NBA include Hield (now with the Golden State Warriors), Philadelphia 76ers guard Eric Gordon (whose mother is Bahamian), Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton and free-agent center Kai Jones.

“It’s crazy to think I’m a kid’s role model, man. But it shows that basketball in The Bahamas is growing,” Edgecombe said. “It’s growing at a pretty rapid pace. I’m excited to see who’s next.”

Said Hield: “You have your founding fathers like Mychal Thompson, Rick Fox, and then you have the guys like Klay, who is Bahamian with his dad. You have Eric Gordon and you had [former G League center] Magnum Rolle. Then you had me, Deandre, Kai, VJ. We all have been given the same type of opportunity. It doesn’t matter, rich or poor, black or white. If you put your mind to it, somebody’s going to see you and you have a chance to get a shot at it.”

Hield is an eight-year NBA veteran who became the second-fastest player to reach 1,500 career three-pointers. The 2020 NBA 3-point contest champion also holds franchise records for most three-pointers made (1,248) for the Sacramento Kings. But before his NBA success, the Freeport, Bahamas native departed from home as a sophomore in high school to attend a prep school in Wichita, Kansas, to pursue his basketball dreams.

Hield starred at Oklahoma before being selected sixth overall in the 2016 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. Ayton, Jones and Edgecombe also followed in Hield’s footsteps by leaving The Bahamas to play college basketball in the United States before arriving to the NBA. Hield realized that a much-taller Edgecombe had a chance to be special before he went to the United States in 2022 to play high school basketball.

“I saw [Edgecombe] the next summer after my camp,” Hield said. “One of the guys who directed my camp was like, ‘Yo, this is VJ, the young kid from the camp.’ He sprung up. He was like 6-3. He was dunking everything and was on top of everybody. I was like, ‘Yeah, he has a chance for sure.’ ”

The Bahamas have elite basketball camps led by Hield and renowned coach Jeff Rodgers. Hield, however, said there is a lot of basketball talent in The Bahamas that goes unnoticed without “the proper guidance” needed from their families and in basketball.

“I had the proper guidance. There are a lot of VJs in The Bahamas, but they just don’t have the right guidance and the proper skill development,” Hield said. “And VJ was one of those guys who understands the why, the it and what it takes. And that’s why a lot of guys don’t make it to high major [Division I basketball] or play overseas or go further. They don’t have the public guidance or head space. And VJ is like a prime testament that if we all follow the guidelines, we all could have made it.

“But you know how it is. There’s a lot of freaks (athletic talents) like VJ in The Bahamas. I’m watching one right now. He’s like 15, raw, jumping out the gym. There are a lot of them in The Bahamas. They just don’t have the proper guidance. And when I say ‘guidance,’ it’s like the mother guidance, the father guidance. A lot of these guys don’t have their father. You got to be strong. You got to have that ‘it’ [factor] while you’re doing it. And some of them just get lost in the sauce.”

Hield and a 17-year-old Edgecombe were teammates with the Bahamian Men’s National Basketball team in 2024 in hopes of making the Paris Olympics. Ayton, Jones and Gordon were also on the team vying to earn its first Olympic bid in men’s basketball. One win away from qualifying, however, The Bahamas lost 86-78 to Spain in the 2024 FIBA Qualifying Finals in Valencia, Spain.

While Hield is still pained by that loss, he had a lot of pride sharing the backcourt with Edgecombe.

“He was elite and special,” Hield said of Edgecombe. “We were a couple plays away from making the Olympics. He is so electric. He is so smooth. When you put him in pick and rolls, he just goes downhill. His launch is elite. He plays with a burst, pop, joy and flair. He plays with all the intangibles. He plays at both ends. He makes shots when you need a big shot. He just has that ‘it’ factor when you call his number.

“He is not one of those guys thinking, ‘I’m going to come over and take over for everybody.’ He just finds his way and he’s one of those guys where we have to let VJ take over because he is like that. He is not above himself. He treats everybody the same. He walks around with a swagger that everybody likes.”

The 2025 NBA draft was a memorable night for Edgecombe with his family members and close ones by his side in the Green Room. A day earlier, Edgecombe mentioned that he was also excited about Hield making the trek to Brooklyn, New York, to support him. Shortly after Edgecombe’s name was called, Hield was on the draft floor to congratulate and hug his “little bro” from The Bahamas.

“That’s little bro. I’m just being a supportive, big bro for him,” Hield said. “I just wanted to show how much I appreciated him. I watched him grow from when he was little. I would never say I made him because I didn’t make him. But I just watched him come from my camp and he was calling me and reached out to me whenever he needed advice. I feel like I was always big bro to him. He could talk to me on a different level. …

“It’s one of those deals where if you really love a kid, you really cherish him and you love his story, you want to be there for him. And I felt my support was needed there. I didn’t have to be there, but I was there because that’s my little bro.”

Said Edgecombe: “He’s my dog. Buddy came to the draft. He pulled up just to show love. It means a lot and that goes a long way. He shows that he actually cares about me, cares about my future, cares about me as a person.”

So, how good can Edgecombe be? Hield believes Edgecombe has NBA star potential and reminds him of Warriors teammate Jimmy Butler.

“I love his charisma. He loves to work, to play basketball,” Hield said. “He loves defense. When you hear him speak, he is just full of joy. He’s one of those guys who has that special talent. He can be a really special talent in this league and can go far. He reminds me a lot of Jimmy Butler because of the way that he carries himself and always joking around laughing.

“When it comes to the game, he is very serious. … He doesn’t back down from no competition. You can see it in his first [summer league] game, too. He wants the ball in his hands and he’s going to deliver.”

Hield has a picture that he truly cherishes of a 13-year-old Edgecombe looking at him at the latter’s basketball camp. Hield is still holding his basketball camp in The Bahamas, but the 32-year-old hopes that in the coming years Edgecombe can take the torch from him as the guiding light for Bahamian basketball talent.

Edgecombe appears willing to take that challenge.

“I’m going to have another camp this summer and VJ is going to come,” Hield said. “It’s a true testament to everybody on how I started off, then Deandre, then Kai, and then VJ. I always tell VJ, ‘There is only so long I can be doing these camps. You’re going to have to take the torch. This is your show.’ When the league says they are done with me, you’re going to have to take over as one of the guys that are the example.”

Said Edgecombe: “I’m going to help them as much as I can, inspire them, try my best to inspire the ones that come after me.”