Philadelphia native and 76ers two-way player Justin Edwards got a golden opportunity on Tuesday night when the 76ers hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 76ers were without their three best players: Joel Embiid(foot), Paul George(ankle), and Tyrese Maxey(hand). They were also missing Caleb Martin(groin), Andre Drummond(toe), and Kyle Lowry(hip).
In 35 minutes of action, the undrafted rookie free agent had a team-high 25 points off the bench, including 4/9 from deep, six rebounds, and four assists.
Another 76ers two-way player, Jeff Dowtin Jr., added 18 points off the bench.
However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 32 points as the Thunder defeated the 76ers 118-102 at Wells Fargo Center.
76ers head coach Nick Nurse liked what he saw from Edwards.
“I think he’s really, really improving,” Nurse said. “Again, he gives a really good effort on the defensive end, he’s capable of guarding lots of positions defensively, and he’s got a good feel offensively. Again, the ball finds him because he’s moving to the right place at the right time. I thought he took a good number of threes that were there, I thought he drove when he was supposed to, I thought he got off of it when he was supposed to for the most part. So, yeah, really, really good bright spot there.
Edwards, who became the fifth rookie this season to score at least 25 off the bench, feels he’s becoming comfortable with each game.
“It just really just comes down to the reps, and the players, and the coaches believing in me, just telling me to be myself out there,” he said. “So that’s a big part of that.”
The 21-year-old, who has starred in the G League with the 76ers G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, believes his time in Delaware has helped him play more confidently.
“It helped a lot honestly,” he said. “I feel like it helped build my confidence, that’s really the biggest thing for me. Coming here I didn’t really have a lot of confidence in myself. Playing down in the G League really helped me get my confidence back.”
For Edwards, playing in front of his hometown crowd is special.
“It means a lot,” he said. “Just being a child growing up here, watching games, it means a lot to put on for my family, my friends, and my hometown.”
Edwards getting 35 minutes is not what anybody had in mind, but he took advantage of the playing time and is showing that he belongs in the NBA.
Leave a Reply