CAMDEN, N.J. -- Shortly after the Sixers selected VJ Edgecombe with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the team's newest building block held his first media availability with Philadelphia reporters.
Edgecombe spoke with passion and intensity about wanting to retire as teammates with Tyrese Maxey. He argued that Jared McCain would have been the NBA Rookie of the Year had he not gotten injured. He referred to Joel Embiid and Paul George as "most likely Hall of Famers."
But one particular remark made by Edgecombe caused a lot of laughter on the Zoom call, and it was about Eric Gordon, one of Edgecombe's teammates with the Bahamian national team. Now they would be joining forces again in Philadelphia.
"It's crazy me and EG are teammates now," Edgecombe said. "EG... EG is old, man. I tell him all the time. He's old, man."
To be fair, Edgecombe's date of birth -- July 30, 2005 -- lands right around the first time Eric Gordon committed to a college basketball program.
Now, Gordon is a 36-year-old entering his 18th season in the NBA. The decorated sharpshooter returned to the Sixers on a one-year deal at the veteran's minimum salary over the summer a few days after declining a player option, and part of the Sixers' calculus behind retaining an aging veteran was that he could continue his mentorship of Edgecombe as the 21-year-old gets his feet wet in the NBA.
Many Sixers draftees have entered unusual situations and had to adjust accordingly. Edgecombe, to a large degree, will be no different. But Edgecombe appreciates having Gordon in place as someone he can lean on.
"Just how great of a person and how great of a vet he is," Edgecombe told PhillyVoice in August. "He helped me with Team Bahamas, he helped me a lot. And that's someone I'm definitely looking forward to being on the same team with again... He's a great vet, so I'm definitely looking forward to learning from him."
In a conversation with PhillyVoice on Sep. 27, Gordon expressed excitement about what he can teach Edgecombe about succeeding at this level and the heights the rookie eventually will reach. Nowadays, Gordon is a catch-and-shoot specialist, but back in his day, he had bounce. He entered the NBA as a similar player to what Edgecombe is now. He thinks it gives him a uniquely helpful perspective on top of their pre-existing relationship.
"It's all about doing what you do best. Me as a vet, before he goes into every game, I'm going to tell him what other teams are doing to him," Gordon said. "People are going to be afraid of him athletically as he plays downhill and gets to the rim. That's going to be good for him, but I think when he starts knocking down shots, that's going to be the ultimate game-changer: when he's able to make catch-and-shoots, then I can already know he's going to have really good games."
Edgecombe and Gordon encapsulate the two-timeline approach to team-building that the Sixers have embraced. As Embiid's availability dwindles, the organization is attempting to account for its long-term health while also remaining in the mix to contend for championships in the next few seasons. It is a tremendously difficult balance to strike, and after the miserable 24-58 season that was 2024-25, there are not many external believers.
In many ways, fans viewed Gordon as a proxy for all that was wrong with the team's roster last season. Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey acknowledged after the season that the front office had put too much focus on accumulating veterans with playoff experience and not enough on youth and athleticism. As an older player whose game is no longer predicated upon athleticism whatsoever, it was easy to connect the dots between those comments and Gordon.
In the same vein, Gordon had every reason to look elsewhere. He has nearly two full decades of experience in the NBA, has made enormous amounts of money and filled every possible role within a rotation. The only thing missing is a championship, and Gordon acknowledged that winning a title is still among his focuses. It is easy to connect those dots, too, and conclude that this is not the place Gordon should want to be.
So why stay in Philadelphia after how nightmarish last season was?
"We have the talent. We have a good combination of young and older guys," Gordon said. "...We do have enough talent to make the playoffs and we do have enough talent to go the distance as long as we stay healthy and stay together."
Another factor in his decision to stick with the Sixers, Gordon said, was one of the primary reasons he ended up here: his relationship with Morey, a close bond that first formed with the Houston Rockets. There is mutual trust.
"Yeah, for sure," Gordon said. "Because I know how he operates, and for me,I know where I'm at in my career: my place is to open up the floor for other guysand when you've seen it -- last year，before I got injured，I was hitting a lotof threes，spacing，letting guys operate，spacing to floor.So it was agood combination during that point before I got injured."
Even without factoring in his connections to Edgecombe or Morey,the Sixers believedGordoncouldhelpthemwingamesinsomecapacityaftermissingthelasttwomonthsoftheseasonbecauseofwristsurgery.Itisanunpopularopinion,butitisonetheteamholds.
"Firstofall，hehadthehandsurgeryandhe'scomeoutofthatcompletelyfine，"SixersheadcoachNickNursesaidaftertheteam'spracticeonThursday。"I'veaskedhimaboutitanumberoftimesandhejustsaysthere'sabsolutelynoissueswithit...Ido thinkhecamebackalsolittleleanerandIthinkthatisapositiveforhim."