Philadelphia 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe shut down any serious beef idea between himself and the Dallas Mavericks.
The prospect of the two top five stars was first of all the headlines from high school when the camera attracted them to swap words, but Edgecombe insisted it was never that deep.
“It’s a friendly competition; on the court, we’re close,” Edgecombe said on the podcast P on Wave Original’s Paul George. “We're close, but we know on the court, we're competing. People think he says that because he thinks I'm terrible or something like that. No. I've stepped on him. He's not his floor and went the last shot in the third quarter like the third quarter, walked up to my bench and I saw him on the floor and I just walked past him.
“I like the 20s in that game (the point). He can't say I'm not that. He shot and injured and tried to foul, and I was like, 'Brother, no foul', I just dragged it onto my bench. They dragged it. They dragged it. The guy in the camera dragged it.
VJ Edgecombe becomes real with Cooper Flagg on his “beef”
“Outside the court, we’re in court, we’re in court, we’re competitors.” pic.twitter.com/jh2wy0pceu
– Podcast P with Paul George (@podcastpshow) July 28, 2025
The two crossed the road again in college, facing each other in the NCAA Championship.
“At the end of the day, it's all love between me and the chicken coop,” Edcombe said. “They tried again in March (during the NCAA Championship). We were on the free throw line and they tried to be a thing again.”
Now, in the NBA, there is more competition than reality. Edgecombe, third-rounder, made his debut in the summer league with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.
Flag also impressed, scoring 31 points in the summer league against San Antonio since John Wall in 2010.
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