VJ Edgecombe Outshines Ace Bailey in Summer League Action

While some high-profile rookies are waiting until Las Vegas to make their Summer League debuts, others are making their mark earlier.

Saturday was the first day of Summer League action, seeing eight teams across the league face off in San Francisco and Salt Lake City. Two of those teams were the Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz, both of which drafted within the top-five at the recent 2025 NBA Draft.

Both Ace Bailey and VJ Edgecombe were likely considered with Philadelphia’s third overall pick, though the latter was eventually drafted there, with the former landing in Utah somewhat surprisingly. Still, both players are among the best prospects in the ’25 draft class, and will be two rookies to continue to keep an eye on as Summer League continues and the NBA season draws near.

Edgecombe came out the better of the two in Saturday’s bout, scoring a game-high 28 points while adding 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. He wasn’t massively efficient, shooting 27 times and only hitting on one of his seven 3-pointers, but he was able to make up for missed shots with his overall play.

Bailey scored just eight points on 3-for-13 shooting, hitting only one 3-pointer himself. He continued to rebound the ball solidly with seven, adding an assist, steal and block apiece.

One Summer League contest certainly isn’t the end-all for either prospect. Edgecombe — now on a fairly loaded 76ers roster featuring Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey — won’t command 20-plus shots a night, and will instead be looked at to fill in the gaps when needed, be it scoring, defending and more. Bailey joins a blank-slate Utah roster that is still looking for its future leading scorer. But he’ll be able to play a role, too, alongside other talented younger players.

Regardless, both prospects have immensely high ceilings with a half-decade of room to grow ahead of them.