When the Philadelphia 76ers came to town for the Boston Celtics’ season opener, their backcourt was on fire. Tyrese Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe combined to score 74 points, shooting an insane 26-of-50 from the floor, including 12-of-22 from behind the three-point line.
Just over a week later, the Celtics find themselves in Philadelphia. Now, on the Sixers’ home turf, they have a chance to avenge their Opening Night loss. At the same time, Edgecombe has a chance to cement himself in Celtics lore earlier than almost any other player currently in the NBA. It’s a club Maxey knows all too well.
The club of Celtics killers.
VJ Edgecombe could be a Celtics villain early-on
Edgecombe wasn’t just great against the Celtics on Opening Night. He was history. His 34 points were the most scored in an NBA debut since Wilt Chamberlain put up 43 in 1959.
And it wasn’t like the Sixers dominated Boston, either. They walked away with a one-point victory, meaning every single one of Edgecombe’s points was necessary. He even missed two free throws at the very end of the game that could have sealed it, so a 36-point night was on the table.
It’s only a one-game sample size, so not much can actually be taken from the stat, but Edgecombe currently “averages” more points against the Celtics than any player in NBA history.
In actuality, Michael Jordan is the real leader at 31.6 points per game against Boston in the regular season and playoffs combined. Donovan Mitchell isn’t far behind at 30.3 (he was the regular-season leader before a rough showing in Boston on Wednesday night), and Luka Doncic is after him at 29.9.
Again, Edgecombe’s single game isn’t enough to propel him ahead of any of those guys on the list of Celtics villains, but it puts him in a very unique spot.
It only took one game for Edgecombe to get on Celtics fans’ radars. There’s no doubt that, heading into Friday night’s contest, everyone will be eying Edgecombe. Even the Celtics themselves will likely pay some extra attention now.
Maxey has been awesome against the Celtics throughout the course of his career, and now, Edgecombe has a chance to join him in the club of Celtics villains.
Friday night could cement his place on that list, at least in the short term, and it would put him on track to be one of the league’s best Celtics villains in just his first NBA season.