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V.J. Edgecombe 2025 NBA Draft Profile
V.J. Edgecombe 2025 NBA Draft Profile
The time is almost here! We are less than one week away from the 2025 NBA Draft! Today, we will be previewing Baylor’s V.J. Edgecombe, one of the best two-way prospects in this year’s class! Let’s not waste any more time and jump right into it!
Height (no shoes): 6’4 (6’7.5 wingspan, 8’5.5 standing reach)
Weight: 193.2
Draft Age: 19.9
Position: Guard
Edgecombe was a top-5 recruit in the 2024 recruiting class out of Long Island Lutheran High School in Glen Head, N.Y., according to 247sports.com. He joined Baylor over offers from UConn, Kentucky, Alabama, Duke and St. John’s, among several others.
Before attending Baylor, he played for the Bahamas in last year’s Olympic qualifiers alongside Deandre Ayton, Buddy Hield and Eric Gordon. He was one of the team’s best players, averaging 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals on 57.1/35.5/81.3 shooting splits, albeit across four games. Edgecombe did have a slow start to his Baylor career, but averaged 15.0 points on 55.2 percent true shooting, winning the Big 12’s Rookie of the Year award.
Let’s dive into his profile!
Strengths:
Edgecombe is the most fluid athlete in this class and I’m not even sure it’s particularly close. He’s a gazelle on the court. Players shouldn’t move the way he does. He floats. He glides.
I understand that he didn’t test with the highest vertical in the class–he had a 38.5-inch max vert, which was the 10th-best mark of 79 players–but he’s super explosive with excellent hang time. He’s got long strides, remarkable balance mid-flight and twitchiness that you simply cannot teach.
Throw all of those in a blender, and you have the ingredients for a 95th percentile athlete, which Edgecombe will be from the moment he steps on an NBA court. You can see his blend of speed and power at all times, especially when he’s treading downhill; he’s not afraid to put players on a poster.
Edgecombe’s shooting drastically improved throughout the season. He shot 39.1 percent from 3-point range in Big 12 play, though he didn’t shoot well in the tournament. He doesn’t have a super quick release, but it’s high with a beautiful arc. He has a narrow base and does a good job of squaring his shoulders off movement.
His passing is real. His on-ball reps early in the season were pretty rough, though I think he took a real stride with his live-ball decision-making and processing later in the season. He’s good at locating bigs in the dunker spot or short corners and doesn’t waste any extra time when he’s making those dump-offs. He also improved as a lob passer and pick-and-roll playmaker, but most of his playmaking came off secondary actions.
I can’t say I’ve been doing this for a very long time, but Edgecombe is sneakily one of the best defensive guard prospects I’ve evaluated in recent memory. He’s got insanely good dexterity and isn’t afraid to get into other players’ jerseys. He has plus lateral agility, bend and hip movement. He’ll be able to defend at least both guard positions, as well as smaller wings. Edgecombe’s shot-blocking is real. He takes real pride defensively. I’m comfortable with his disruption translating.
Perhaps his most underrated skill is his rebounding. Edgecombe has a real knack for knowing where the ball will bounce and isn’t afraid to crash the offensive glass, even if his 7.1 ORB% doesn’t explode off the page.
Weaknesses:
While I mentioned his playmaking chops above, one facet I want to see him improve is his passing accuracy. His off-hand dribbling also wasn’t the best at times, especially early in the season. He’ll need to develop more consistency with his left. Depending on where he goes, he may not have much ball-handling responsibility–but I want to see him have more variety.
I was impressed with Edgecombe’s growth as a spot-up shooter throughout the season. But the next area of growth will have to be his pull-up shooter, where he’s far less comfortable. Edgecombe’s not a true three-level scoring threat … yet. He only shot 34.0 percent from deep, but he’s going to have to show his 39.1 3-point percentage in Big 12 play is legit. I am a believer, but it’s not a huge sample.
I think his size–or lack thereof–could limit his upside as a multi-positional defender right away. He’s going to have to get stronger. Edgecombe’s going to fight, but he’s not the biggest apple in the orchard. Do I have confidence in him to get stronger? Absolutely.
Projection: Top-3 Pick
As much as I love Tre Johnson, I have Edgecombe No. 3 on my board and believe that he should be the third pick in next week’s draft. You won’t find players who move the way he does. He will have to continue to improve on-ball, as well as show that his shooting improvement in Big 12 play was real. But I think Edgecombe will benefit from more space. He’s a freak in the open court and an insanely gifted defender.
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