From a small island of 2,400 people to the NBA, is he really a "high school student"?

The 2025-26 NBA season has begun, and all rookies have officially made their debut in front of fans around the world. The brilliance of the No. 1 pick and No. 2 pick was completely overshadowed by Bunyama; Yang Hansen only got 5 minutes and has yet to score his first sports goal.

The 76ers' No. 3 overall pick, shooting guard VJ Edgecombe wearing jersey No. 77, completely shocked the fans in just one game.

At TD Garden, the home court of the Celtics, Edgecombe played a spectacular game that will go down in history - in the absence of George and Embiid's misfire, Edgecombe scored 34 points, and together with Maxey who scored 40 points, led this young army to retreat from Boston.

He scored 14 points in the first quarter, setting a record for the highest score in the first quarter of a player's NBA career. Before that, this statistic was maintained by LeBron James, who scored 12 points in the first quarter of his career debut in 2003.

But this is not the most shocking record - Edgecombe's 37 points in his debut can be ranked as the third-highest score in NBA history - the person ranked first is Chamberlain, who scored 43 points and 28 rebounds in his debut for the Philadelphia Warriors in 1959 wearing high-top canvas shoes; and the person ranked second with 35 points is Frank Selvey, who was 5 years earlier than Chamberlain.

Yes, Edgecomb's career debut score was the highest score in the 66 years since Chamberlain. Of course, it also broke the debut record in the history of the 76ers, and the record holder is Iverson, who scored 30 points in his debut.

When he heard the news, Edgecombe's eyes widened and he leaned his head on the locker, unable to hide his excitement.

"I have been praying before, praying that I can enter the NBA and gain a foothold in the NBA." The young man born in July 2005 said, "It's crazy, it really far exceeded my expectations."

Edgecomb is the most athletic player among this rookie class. He is the most powerful defender, but unlike people's stereotype of those high-draft picks selling potential jumpers, the 20-year-old has already developed a proficient outside jumper. What's even more valuable is that he is also known as the best outside defender among this rookie class. He will do his best on the defensive end and show the same energy on both ends of the offense and defense.

You know, since Jordan, Kobe, and Wade, the league and fans have been looking forward to a super defender who can combine offense and defense for a long time...

Maybe you still remember Edgecombe's tears at the draft. After the draft, he said in an interview: "My house didn't have electricity for a long time. I lived on a generator for 7 years..."

"I really started from scratch. To get to this point, I can only say that I am very lucky."

How lucky are you? In his own words, the chance of playing in the NBA from his hometown may be only one in a million.

VJ-Edgecomb’s hometown is Bimini Island in the Bahamas. To be precise, it is the larger of the three small islands, North Bimini. The island is about 11 kilometers long and 800 meters wide. As a fishing town in the Bahamas, many rare species live on North Bimini. There is a world-famous shark laboratory here, and there are several endangered reptiles unique to the world. Many people come here to get close to nature and experience the rare natural scenery in the world.

But for the Aboriginal people, things were never that good. The natural scenery is beautiful, but modern residential facilities are seriously lacking. According to the 2022 census, there are only 2,417 residents on Bimini. However, there is a lack of stable power supply here all year round, and people can only rely on generators to survive.

Yes, no matter what energy source is used, generators cannot provide continuous power. As my mother and grandmother raised four children, life was not only very difficult, but they also had to worry about weather emergencies that might occur at any time.

"On such a small island, once a tsunami occurs, we have nowhere to escape and can only seek blessings for ourselves."

Edgecombe has shown excellent basketball talent since he was a child, especially his physical fitness. He has extremely strong jumping height and speed, and can fly above the basket at will. But on this small island with more than 2,000 people, everyone just wants to have fun.

But one day, the coach on the island seriously told the 9-year-old him that he should play hard and stand out through basketball in the future. The coach looked him in the eyes and said, you can play in the NBA in the future.

Little Edgecombe was ignorant. At that time, he only knew that the NBA was the largest basketball hall in the world. He didn't know much other than that. But this sentence planted a seed in his heart. He remembered what the coach said, and he could never forget the name: Glasson Robbins, everyone called him "Sugar".

Sugar will drive his golf cart and look for all the children who love to play basketball on the island. He finally formed a team, and when Edgecomb was 9 years old, Sugar flew the group of children to Freeport, an important port in the Bahamas, to participate in a youth basketball game held here.

They went all the way and finally defeated a powerful team from Nassau, the capital, and won the final championship. When he came back, Sugar told the children, "Look, they don't believe you can win. But if you believe in yourself, you can win."

Coach Sugar inspired the children on the entire island, and he made the island fall in love with basketball. But unfortunately, he did not see Edgecomb's most glorious moment: Coach Sugar passed away a year later.

Edgecombe later learned that when Sugar led them to that tournament, he was fighting a nasty disease.. Like he kept telling his kids, he always believed he could get through it, and he never gave up on himself.

That day, a dozen children in black suits crowded outside the church to attend the funeral. Edgecombe no longer remembers the scene at that time, but he will always remember what Sugar told him to work hard and make it to the NBA.

The Bahamas has sent many players to the NBA, including two No. 1 picks: Klay Thompson's father, Mitchell Thompson, and Ayton. Of course, the most active player in the current NBA is undoubtedly Buddy Hield. Every offseason, Hield returns to his hometown of the Bahamas to hold an elite training camp here.

His training camp generally recruits high school students with mature techniques and tactics, most of whom are 16 or 17 years old. At the beginning of training camp, a colleague strongly suggested that he add a 13-year-old player.

Hilde was impatient at first, "I don't want kids."

"This is a kid from Bimini, 13 years old, but he's really great." The colleague insisted again.

Hild repeated that he didn't want a child, but he thought about it and changed his mind, "Bring him here."

"I thought about it seriously. I used to play that kid. When I was 13 years old, I played with the older kids." Hilde said.

In this way, 13-year-old VJ Edgecombe joined Hilder's elite training camp. In the confrontation with the best high school students in the Bahamas, Edgecombe's performance was the most amazing. Everyone saw the bright spots in him. He was physically amazing, but he also had a good shot, and he was very keen on defense.

Edgecomb became famous that day, and he began to realize that he had the opportunity to break into a bigger sky. Hilde was also very proud of his choice at that time. He knew that he had done the right thing.

"I think there may be a lot of VJs in the Bahamas, but they lack the right guidance to further improve their skills. VJ is the kind of kid who understands the reasons, knows how to grow, and is willing to fight for it. When he is 15 years old, although he is very immature, he knows who to learn from and what kind of person he wants to become."

"I met VJ again the next year," Hilde said, "They told me that this was the guy who performed well last year, and then I saw him, almost 1.91 meters tall, flying up in a flash, playing over everyone's heads, and scoring every ball. I thought, 'He must have a chance.'"

Edgecombe successfully received an invitation from the United States and came to Florida to start high school courses as a boarder. At that time, he had a dream, but he didn't know how to do it. The decision to bring him to the United States was simple.

"I just want to receive a free education so that my mom doesn't have to pay for college," he said. "I just want to have the opportunity to play more basketball."

In just two years, Edgecombe has grown rapidly and rocketed into one of the most promising players in his class, rising from No. 153 in the nation's high school rankings to the top five. But what really impresses people is his love for basketball and his positive attitude of fighting for every ball.

Cassidy, an analyst at the well-known draft website Rivals, commented on Edgecombe this way:

"He has always been a player with excellent athletic ability, able to complete quick breakthroughs and change the game by grabbing rebounds. But in the past year, His long-range shooting and defensive abilities have made huge leaps. Now he is one of the most comprehensive offensive and defensive players in the country, and he is an out-and-out athletic monster."

Also, there is the simple atmosphere about him, he knows where he came from and where he is going.

"I came to the United States to play basketball and I knew I had to support my family. It definitely helped me and who I am now. All I can do is work harder than everyone else and I don't want to be one of those people who can't succeed. I want to be successful and set a high standard , paving the way for all the young kids behind me."

In 2024, he participated in the Olympic qualifying game. At this time, he was still a high school student, playing alongside Ayton, Hield and Eric Gordon.

In four games, he averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.

They won three consecutive games, and then they had to compete with Spain for the only ticket. That day he scored 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, but ultimately lost to Spain with all their famous players by 8 points.

Although he lost the game, Hilde was sincerely happy for his little brother.

"He is really too good and special," Hield said. "We are only a few rounds away from the Olympics. He is full of energy, smooth movements, and has the beauty of strength. He can attack and defend. When you need key shots, he can always make them. When you call his name, he will never let you down."

Then, he chose Baylor University. He averaged 15 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game, locking in a top-five position.

Then, he heard Silver calling his name, and it was the Philadelphia 76ers who chose him.

When he shook hands with Silver for a photo and walked down the stairs to be interviewed, the brothers who grew up with him asked him to take a look at the lining of his suit.

He lowered his head and saw "Sugar" embroidered on the lining, and tears burst into his eyes.

"I really want him to see me walk onto the stage in New York as he predicted. I just hope to look over and see him smiling there."

"I know the probability of playing in the NBA is very low, so what is the probability of playing in the NBA after coming out of Bimini? I don't know the exact probability, but the probability is definitely 0.000001%. To be honest, maybe these 0's are not enough.. "

"Yes, I was very emotional at the time.

My family used to rely on generators.  

Now I play for the Philadelphia 76ers. "

He finally fulfilled his promise to Coach Sugar, to his brothers, and of course to his mother. With this rookie contract, 4 years and 50.43 million US dollars, he can finally make everyone around him live a good life.

Yes, he is a person who is always grateful. In other words, you can clearly see the breath of youth in him, or in this era, I People call it a "feeling of being alive". There is no politeness or official excuse in every word of his. He is willing to make positivity, hard work, gratitude and friendship the theme of every conversation, because no one knows better than him how to cross class and achieve success. And how to go from an island of 2,000 people to the spotlight of the world.

"In the past few weeks, I have been thinking about it all in my mind, trying to digest it. Think about the effort I put in and the sacrifices my family made. I hope I can do my part to inspire the children in my hometown. "

"If they say you can't do it, you can't do it, you can't achieve it, don't waste your efforts. Then what you can do is block these words. You know you can, you have always been able, and you must be able. Take those words that they don't believe and don't like as an encouragement to you. "

"Continue to absorb, keep learning, and become a better version of yourself. "

"Then tell them that you are all wrong. "

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(Text/Wen Ruo)