Paul George says the Sixers ‘knew early’ that VJ Edgecombe was their guy. The rookie says it’s still ‘surreal.’

76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe had no idea the Sixers would be drafting him at No. 3 overall until about 15 seconds before Adam Silver said his name in Brooklyn.

But on the latest episode of Podcast P, Paul George, who recently underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, said the team knew immediately after the Baylor guard’s workout, despite shifting rumors and speculation.

“By the end of that workout, by the end of that day, they were like, ‘We know who we’re taking,’” George said. “They felt strong at that point, we know who we’re taking, VJ’s our guy. Great kid, works hard, good resumé, the footage backs up everything, so we knew early.”

With other top draft prospects like Ace Bailey skipping predraft workouts, Edgecombe said he wanted to work out for as many teams as possible to get selected as high as possible.

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George said that Edgecombe’s workout sold the group on him as the team’s top pick. Shortly after it happened, rumors started to circulate from ESPN that Edgecombe had looked “nervous” shooting, but he impressed the team in interviews.

“At the time, what Ace [Bailey] had going on, he wasn’t working out for anybody, so I thought, I might as well go and do a workout, because why not?” Edgecombe said. “Gain some momentum to hopefully get that third pick. I felt like I fit into the team and the culture, so why not? I would’ve worked out for Dallas if it was up to me, because I wanted to go as high as possible.

“When I see nobody worked out, I thought, why not? I just went there, did my thing, and then I started seeing the rumors come around that I was nervous, and I’m like, what? I thought I had a good workout, but dang.”

George is excited about adding a player with Edgecombe’s speed and athleticism to an older Sixers lineup. But even though Edgecombe has been a Sixer for almost a month, it still hasn’t quite sunk in for him.

“I wasn’t expecting it to happen this quick, I’m only 19,” Edgecombe said. “I was thinking when I’m 23-24, I’ll probably get a Summer League shot or something. But, man, it still feels surreal. I ain’t going to lie to you, I don’t even believe I’m in the NBA right now.”

When will Edgecombe finally feel like he made it? He thinks it will hit him during his first game.

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