Philadelphia 76ers rookie shooting guard V.J. Edgecombe had an NBA debut to remember in a nervy 117-116 season opening win against the Boston Celtics.
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Edgecombe finished with 34 points on 13-of-26 shooting from the floor (5-of-13 from distance) and 3-of-6 shooting from the foul line, plus seven rebounds, three assists, a steal and a -2 plus-minus.
That sum smashed Allen Iverson's prior record for a Philadelphia rookie debut scoring mark. The eventual Hall of Fame point guard and MVP notched 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting from field (2-of-4 from long range) and 4-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe in a 111-103 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on November 1, 1996.
Edgecombe's outburst wasn't a total shock. He wrapped up an encouraging preseason run with a 26-point stint on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
During a courtside interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia, Edgecombe made a point to shout out his teammates quickly. In fairness, he wasn't even the high scorer on the team — that'd be All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey, who scored 40 points while shooting 13-of-24 from the floor (7-of-9 from beyond the arc) and 7-of-9 shooting from the foul line, along with six assists, two boards, two swipes and one block.
"Credit to Tyrese and the rest of the team, everybody on the team," Edgecombe said.
Edgecombe thrived by pressuring the rim initially, notching some layups until his jumpers started connecting.
"Man it was just having confidence, my teammates [kept] passing me the ball, telling me to shoot it," Edgecombe said. "So why not? I've been working on it every day in the gym."
The former Baylor Bear's tally ranks third all-time, behind only then-Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain's 43 points in 1959 and then-Milwaukee Hawks shooting guard Frank Selvy's 35 points in 1954.
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