Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe surprisingly received one second-place vote in the 2025 NBA Rookie of the Year voting.
Most fans and media thought the ROTY voting would be a two-man race between Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks and Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets. Indeed, when voting results for the award were announced on Monday, it was Flagg who finished first in voting, with Knueppel finishing second. Edgecombe finished third, with Dylan Harper of the San Antonio Spurs and Cedric Coward of the Memphis Grizzlies rounding out the top five.
On face value, the voters seem to have got the top five right. But taking a closer look, it was surprising to see the breakdown of the totals.
Although Flagg and Knueppel were the clear-cut No. 1 and No. 2 rookies this year, one voter somehow gave Edgecombe a second-place vote, with Knueppel earning a third-place vote instead.
VJ Edgecombe Was a Clear Distant Third in ROTY Voting
Here were the breakdowns for the ROTY point totals, with 100 media members each selecting their top-three finalists.
- Cooper Flagg, 412 points
- Kon Knueppel 386 points
- VJ Edgecombe, 96 points
- Dylan Harper, 5 points
- Cedrid Coward, 1 point
It was a tough choice for the voters this year to pick between Flagg and Knueppel. Both rookies had absolutely amazing seasons, and there were legitimate arguments that you could make for either man to win the award. They were the clear No. 1 and No 2 rookies
Edgecombe was the clear No. 3, but it’s still very surprising to see someone give him a second-place vote. Yes, he had a great year for Philadelphia. But there is no statistic you can point to saying that he was a better rookie than either Flagg or Knueppel. Voting is opinionated by nature, but whoever gave Edgecombe that second-place ROTY vote was just plain wrong.
VJ Edgecombe Had a Great Rookie Season
This isn’t to say that Edgecombe didn’t have a great rookie season, as he not only had a terrific regular season, but he is also excelling right now in the playoffs for Philadelphia.
In 75 regular-season games, Edgecombe averaged 16 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists on .438/.354/.818 shooting. Those are great numbers, especially for a rookie player, and they have Sixers fans excited for the future of the franchise. After the team missed the playoffs last year, they were able to win the No. 3 spot in the 2025 NBA draft lottery, and they took Edgecombe with the pick. He went on to prove to everyone that he was well deserving of being drafted that high.
But he simply was not at the level of Flagg or Knueppel this year, and seeing him get a second-place vote from one of the voters is very odd when you consider how dominant those other two rookies are. That being said, Edgecombe is the only one of these three rookies in this year’s NBA playoffs, so he is the only one of the three who has a chance to win the NBA Championship. Perhaps the fact that the Sixers made the playoffs was the bump that one voter needed to give Edgecombe the second-place vote instead of Knueppel, but it still doesn’t feel right.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post VJ Edgecombe Received 2nd-Place Vote for ROTY appeared first on HEAVY.