Paul George was impressed by rookie VJ Edgecombe’s summer league debut: ‘He showed flashes of stardom’

After an impressive performance from VJ Edgecombe in his summer league debut, nine-time All-Star Paul George had a lot of compliments for the Sixers first-round pick.

“I thought he looked good,” said George in a recent clip from Podcast P. “I thought he looked good on both ends of the floor. It’s dope to see the difference between college and NBA with spacing. He was able to get to his middy, he was able to see space on the floor, he was spacing behind the three-point line. He was attacking in transition. There’s just so much space for guys when you cross over from college to the NBA.”

In Edgecombe’s highly anticipated debut, the Sixers competed against the Utah Jazz and the No. 5 pick Ace Bailey. Edgecombe outperformed the Rutgers standout, tallying 28 points on 13-of-27 shooting, and adding 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and one steal. Bailey shot just 3-of-13 from the field, and finished with eight points and seven rebounds.

Despite a 93-89 loss to Utah, Edgecombe gave fans — and teammates — a glimpse of what they can look forward to next season.

“I thought he put it all out on display,” George said. “He showed flashes of stardom. I loved the poise and patience in the pick-and-roll. That’s not something that comes natural, especially for young guys that aren’t point guards. I saw him reading when to come off fast, kind of hesi-ing off the pick-and-roll, getting downhill, he’s got his little patent 1-2 spin turnaround jumper. There’s just a lot of poise around him. He had a great showing, enough for Philly to shut him down for the rest of the summer league.”

In just one summer league exhibition game, scouts are already comparing the young combo guard to veteran All-Star players. One scout believes he’s already better than restricted free agent Quentin Grimes, while another compared the rookie to a young Victor Oladipo.

But to George, Edgecombe reminds him of another familiar face: six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, who he previously compared the young guard to once he was drafted third overall to the Sixers.

“He got the dog in him,” George said. “Watching him, it was like watching a young Jimmy. He moves like Jimmy, kind of has that mid-range tenacity. He’s kind of got a lot of the Jimmy-likeness to him. So, he’s definitely going to be good.”

After suffering a thumb injury, Edgecombe hasn’t played since his debut — missing the last two games in Salt Lake City, and the Sixers’ NBA 2K26 Summer League opener in Las Vegas.