{"id":151954,"date":"2025-07-24T14:30:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T18:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=151954"},"modified":"2025-07-24T14:30:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T18:30:03","slug":"nba-execs-crown-two-way-vj-edgecombe-future-best-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/24\/nba-execs-crown-two-way-vj-edgecombe-future-best-player\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Execs Crown Two-Way Rookie Future Best Player"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO<\/strong> \u2013 The 2025 NBA Draft didn\u2019t shock anyone with trades except the now infamous trade<\/a> between the Atlanta Hawks<\/a> and New Orleans Pelicans<\/a>\u00a0for the 13th pick. But hidden in the routine were potential gems. Jermy Woo of ESPN polled top league minds. He asked two critical questions. Who takes Rookie of the Year? And who will become the best player, excluding Cooper Flagg<\/a>?<\/p>\n

NBA Execs Crown Two-Way Rookie Future Best Player<\/h2>\n
\"Cooper
Jul 12, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) drives past San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant (11) in the fourth quarter of their game at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No surprise, Flagg dominated the Rookie of the Year chatter. The 18-year-old does everything at 6’9″. He defends. He reads the game like a veteran. And he lands in Dallas at the right time. Kyrie Irving\u2019s<\/a> ACL injury opens minutes and touches. Jason Kidd will slot Flagg in to make plays immediately.<\/p>\n

Flagg got 17 out of 20 votes. Dylan Harper<\/a> snagged two votes. Tre Johnson<\/a> earned one lonely nod for the Wizards<\/a>. Rookie of the Year is Flagg\u2019s to lose.<\/p>\n

VJ Edgecombe Steals Second Question<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The next question showed how NBA minds think long term. Who besides Flagg might outshine the class? VJ Edgecombe<\/a> was seen by many as the best player.<\/p>\n

The Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> landed Edgecombe out of Baylor. The 6’5″ guard exploded in Utah\u2019s summer league with 28 points. Scouts loved on-ball playmaking and downhill slashing potential. College forced him off the ball. But NBA execs think he\u2019ll bloom with it.<\/p>\n

Woo notes, \u201c<\/em>The Baylor product is turning into a dynamic downhill slasher\u2026 many execs and scouts believe he has significant untapped upside operating with the ball in his hands.\u201d That upside is why top NBA minds view VJ Edgecombe as the best player outside of Flagg.<\/p>\n

One GM dropped a bombshell prediction. \u201cVJ might be Philly’s second-best player by the end of the season, factoring in Embiid’s uncertain health,\u201d an East GM told Woo. Imagine that. Joel Embiid\u2019s<\/a> shaky knees could give Edgecombe more opportunities than expected. Paul George<\/a> is there too. Big statement.<\/p>\n

Dylan Harper Draws Ginobili Comparisons<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Edgecombe isn\u2019t alone in future star talk. Harper still draws love. He\u2019s San Antonio\u2019s next guard. Woo reveals Harper finished second in the exec poll. His crowded backcourt won\u2019t hold him back for long.<\/p>\n

One scout told Woo, \u201c[Harper] has some [Manu] Ginobili to his offensive game.\u201d Some execs predict if Harper unlocks his jumper, he could push De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/a> out. That\u2019s real belief.<\/p>\n

The Spurs<\/a> will run Harper in pick-and-rolls, Ginobili<\/a>-style. He\u2019ll attack with craft and strength. If San Antonio flips Fox, it\u2019s because Harper popped fast.<\/p>\n

Predictably, the second question garnered more responses. Also receiving votes: Johnson, Carter Bryant<\/a> (Spurs), Yang Hansen<\/a> (Trail Blazers<\/a>), Nique Clifford<\/a> (Kings)<\/a>, and Asa Newell<\/a> (Hawks).<\/p>\n

The Future Shines Bright<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The 2025 class could go down as elite. Flagg looks set to grab hardware early. If VJ Edgecombe proves those execs right as the best player, it changes everything for Philly. If he breaks out next to Embiid, Nick Nurse will have two-way dynamite.<\/p>\n

One thing is clear. This rookie class has a few future All-Stars hiding behind Flagg\u2019s bright light. Edgecombe, Harper, Johnson\u2014they\u2019re all ready to blow up. The league\u2019s next wave is here.<\/p>\n

Credit: \u00a9 Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO \u2013 The 2025 NBA Draft didn\u2019t shock anyone with trades except the now infamous trade between the Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans\u00a0for the 13th pick. But hidden in the routine were potential gems. Jermy Woo of ESPN polled top league minds. He asked two critical questions. Who takes Rookie of the Year? And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":151962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,556,3,13,34],"tags":[49375,49858,50119,48964,49668,979,3073,1712,50016,49827,49644,50183],"class_list":["post-151954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-nba-draft","category-news","category-76ers","category-spurs","tag-2025-nba-draft","tag-asa-newell","tag-carter-bryant","tag-cooper-flagg","tag-dylan-harper","tag-espn","tag-nba-rookie-of-the-year","tag-nba-rookies","tag-nique-clifford","tag-tre-johnson","tag-vj-edgecombe","tag-yang-hansen"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151954"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151964,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151954\/revisions\/151964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}