Raptors NBA draft prospects: VJ Edgecombe is intriguing but here's why he might not fit in Toronto

Toronto Star

09-05-2025

This is the fifth part in a series on players who could be selected by the Raptors i n the June NBA draft. The Raptors have the seventh-best lottery odds (at 7.5 per cent) to jump to No. 1, and a 31.9 per cent chance to move into the top four. The lottery takes place Monday.
Jaw-dropping athleticism and defensive instincts that make VJ Edgecombe a sure-fire NBA lottery draft pick are also what make him a somewhat longer-term selection.
There are no questions about the raw skills of the six-foot-five Baylor University wing just as there is no doubt that there are aspects he'll have to improve once his NBA career begins.
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Edgecombe, a 19-year-old from Bahamas, is highly touted, thought by many experts to be the third selection in next June's draft behind Duke's Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper of Rutgers.
VJ Edgecombe is the most explosive athlete in this class, but shows quite a bit of skill as well. He's an event-creator defensively who hit 39% of his 3s in Big 12 play with improving shot-creation and passing prowess that bodes well for his long-term development. pic.twitter.com/aIwf9EGLS4
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) March 13, 2025
He is lightning quick and explosive, one of the best shot-blocking wings in the NCAA and seemingly possesses a sixth sense that allows him to anticipate plays rather than react to them.
'Skills you can't teach,' one NBA Eastern Conference executive said of Edgecombe, who averaged 15 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists in one collegiate season at Baylor.
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But there are skills that need to be taught and can be tested. He improved as a three-point shooter as his lone college season progressed — he finished at 34 per cent from beyond the arc — but there's room to get better. His shot-blocking skills are legitimate but it's hard to see them translating too well to the NBA as he'll be defending players bigger and stronger than he is.
What will translate is his work ethic — scouts say he plays hard all the time even if he plays a bit recklessly — and that can mask some deficiencies.
Where, or if, Edgecombe would fit with the Raptors is a legitimate question.
First, the Raptors would have to move up to one of the top four slots in the draft to even consider it given the prevailing feeling that the Bahamian teenager will be taken right at the top of the lottery.
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And while he would provide a large measure of athletic explosiveness to a large group of relatively young wings already on the roster, whether team president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster would rather stockpile assets than get someone who might immediately play is a legitimate question.
They have certainly seen the benefit of letting outstanding athletes learn how to become NBA players — see the career development track of DeMar DeRozan in Toronto — the Raptors are at a different place as a franchise now than they were in 2009.
The Raptors need to win next season and be held to that standard, rather than wait a couple of years and hope that a raw talent 'gets it.'
Still, the raw talent is intriguing and any team would benefit if it develops over the years.
Depending on how Monday's draft lottery plays out, Edgecombe would be a logical and valuable addition to a building team like Charlotte; he'd be a lethal addition to Victor Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle in San Antonio; and he'd infuse the Washington Wizards with a needed dose of young athleticism.
Patience would be needed to let his basketball abilities catch up with his pure physical presence but that's the same with practically every pick in every draft.
One thing Edgecombe has is more varied experience than most university freshmen seen as high lottery draft picks.
He may not have gotten Bahamas to the pinnacle of international competition but playing alongside Deandre Ayton, Buddy Hield and Eric Gordon with his national team at the 2024 FIBA Olympic qualification tournament gave him some much-needed high level experience.