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Nick Nurse addresses what went wrong amid V.J. Edgecombe's alarming decline

Nick Nurse addresses what went wrong amid V.J. Edgecombe's alarming decline originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

V.J. Edgecombe has taken a significant decline.

It's been a while since the Philadelphia 76ers rookie sensation surprisingly emerged as the NBA’s favorite upon his historic start to this 2025-26 season. But recently, the hype has slowly diminished as struggles have been persistent for the 20-year-old.

In his first five games, Edgecombe wowed fans with his extreme athleticism and aggressiveness, averaging a strong 21.2 points on 49.4 percent shooting (43.8 percent from three).

But this month has turned into a rocky one for him, as his numbers have massively dropped to 10.5 points on an awful 31.5 percent efficiency, hitting just 26.9 percent from downtown.

Against the Boston Celtics this past Tuesday, he finished with a horrendous six-point outing on 2-of-11 shooting across 35 minutes.

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Speaking in front of the media on Thursday, Nick Nurse set the record straight on what went wrong with Edgecombe’s production.

Simply, the 76ers head coach shouldered the full responsibility for Edgecombe's shocking slump. Nurse acknowledged that he has to be better in putting the talented guard in plenty of opportunities and encouraging him to score.

“I think we certainly want him to be aggressive and we try to convey that to him. He needs to kind of take that and run with it a little bit more,” Nurse said. “I need to set up and give him some situations where you’re saying, like, this is for you to attack. And we probably haven’t done a good enough job of that from a coaching standpoint, like where we’re just saying, ‘Come hell or high water, this is your play, go make something happen.’

“I think he just needs more reps of that and some more situations we can put him in so we can certainly do a better job of that.”

This new season has yet to reach its first month. For that, there's still plenty of hoops left for Edgecombe in reclaiming his brilliant offensive touch.

Friday will be a good test for Edgecombe to redeem himself, as he and the 76ers will go up against the current East-leading Pistons for a marquee NBA Cup matchup in Detroit.