Apr 5, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Justin Edwards (19) controls the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Sixers Rising Star Makes Change Ahead of Upcoming Season

Originally posted on Philadelphia 76ers on SI
By Declan Harris | Last updated Aug 14, 2025 8:56 PM ET

Last year saw the Philadelphia 76ers struggle with an injury crisis that spanned the entire season. It started with Joel Embiid being resting and suspended for separate reasons, for the first nine games of the season, before hitting Paul George in mid-November in the form of a hyperextended left knee, which kept him out for a few games.

Given the holes left in his depth chart, Sixers’ head coach Nick Nurse would be forced to use all of his available options, meaning the likes of Reggie Jackson, Ricky Council IV, and Philadelphia native Justin Edwards.

The 21-year-old went undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft, but was soon picked up by his hometown team for the summer league, where Edwards would go on to average 7.6 points per game on 43.1 percent shooting from the field, showing that there was something to work with.

These numbers would only rise during his time with the Sixers’ G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, with whom he’d average 17.4 points in each of his outings on an improved 47 percent shooting.

Despite being a rookie and a two-way player at that, Nurse trusted Edwards with some hefty tasks in his first stretch with the team, facing off against the New York Knicks as well as LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Philadelphia native proved that no task was too much, as he’d put up 10.1 points and 3.4 rebounds across his 44 appearances in his rookie campaign.

new number just dropped! pic.twitter.com/dBN5g7xPiF
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) August 13, 2025

As Edwards gets ready for his second year in the NBA, it appears that he’s going to be making a change, as he will be taking on a new number. On Wednesday afternoon, the Sixers announced that Edwards will change his number from 19 to 11.

Who last wore it with the Sixers?

The jersey number was worn most recently last year by Jeff Dowtin Jr, who recently departed the team for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. Other notable names to don the newly occupied number would be Bob McAdoo, Manute Bol, Vernon Maxwell, and Jrue Holiday, amongst others.

It won’t take long for fans to see Edwards in his new number, given that the Sixers are set to partake in the NBA’s Abu Dhabi games, with two matches against the New York Knicks in early October ahead of the 2025-26 season.

This article first appeared on Philadelphia 76ers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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