Joel Embiid returns, VJ Edgecombe shines in Sixers preseason finale win – NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers concluded the 2025 preseason with a win and Joel Embiid’s first appearance in many months.
The team finished a 1-3 preseason on Friday night with a 126-110 win over the Timberwolves at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
In his first game since late February, Embiid had 14 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points and seven assists. VJ Edgecombe added 26 points, six rebounds, three assists and five steals.
The Sixers were still down Paul George (left knee), Jared McCain (right thumb) and Trendon Watford (right hamstring). Veteran Kyle Lowry also sat.
The team’s regular season opener will be next Wednesday against the Celtics. Here are the observations from the Sixers’ victory over Minnesota:
Embiid’s return
Seconds after the opening tip, Embiid took a pull-up that grazed the front rim. He managed to calibrate everything correctly soon enough, making his next attempt from the left elbow.
Outside of scoring, Embiid had several bright moments early on. He stole a steal and then threw a long-range outlet pass that set up Maxey for an and-one layup.
The Sixers’ half-court attack largely revolved around Embiid in the center of the court. Embiid facilitated well, starting two-man plays with his guards, identifying open cutters and taking advantage of the Timberwolves’ aggressive double-teams.
When Embiid rested at 5:44 of the first quarter, the Sixers led 20-11. His conditioning appeared to be good during his 19 minutes on the court.
In terms of health, Embiid generally didn’t seem bothered by his left knee. The big man had a bit of a worrying play in the third quarter when he committed a fit, fell awkwardly and was slow to get up. He remained in the game but was replaced about a minute later.
An initial nod for Bona
Embiid started the night with Maxey, Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Adem Bona.
Sixers coach Nick Nurse acknowledged before the game that his current plan is to start the 20-year-old Edgecombe on opening night. All signs point to that this preseason.
Bona’s start was less expected, although it wasn’t entirely shocking. The Sixers played Bona and Embiid together on Sunday in their blue-and-white scrimmage, and Nurse suggested they want to experiment further with the double-large frontcourt.
Bona avoided fouls and had an excellent offensive rebounding game. He had four points, seven rebounds and a block in 23 minutes.
Dominick Barlow appears to still be firmly in the rotation picture with George and Watford out. The 22-year-old was the first player off the bench on Friday and started the second half in place of Bona. He played 20 minutes and had six points and five rebounds.
As for rotation projections, it’s notable that the only four players on the Sixers’ bench until the fourth quarter were Barlow, Quentin Grimes, Justin Edwards and Jabari Walker. Edwards had the smallest first-half role of that group, playing just three minutes in the second quarter.
Edgecombe does it all
Edgecombe got the ball out a lot Friday.
Nurse wants more variety and offensive movement this season. An important aspect of this vision is more reps for Maxey without the ball and less burden on the sixth-year guard to create offense out of nothing. It will be interesting to see how Edgecombe handles the ball pressure and split-second decision making that comes with the NBA point guard job.
Edgecombe’s transition talent shines every time he plays. He ended the third quarter with a buzzer-beating quick layup. The home crowd encouraged him to sprint ahead of the pack and fly high into fourth place. Edgecombe did this at every possible opportunity. At the very least, the Sixers should have elite speed when Edgecombe shares the floor with Maxey.
The third overall pick continued to look promising in several other departments as well, including cutting and offensive rebounding. He already has a knack for impacting the game in both eye-popping and subtle ways.
Defensively, Edgecombe was outplayed on a couple of occasions by T-Wolves guard Rob Dillingham. However, he often shone on defense. Edgecombe had several rock-solid 1-on-1 sequences and those five steals.
As Maxey’s final stats indicate, he enjoyed playing off the ball and found plenty of shots in his wheelhouse. A not too shabby preseason finale for the Maxey-Edgecombe duo.