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NBA Draft: V.J. Edgecombe the Betting Favorite to go Third Overall to the Sixers
By Joe Tansey
Published:
The Sixers are hopefully going to add an impact player for the 2025-26 season and beyond on Wednesday night.
Right now, they hold the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft. That could change by the time they’re on the clock, but for now, that’s what we’re operating by.
BetMGM currently lists Baylor’s V.J. Edgecombe as a -350 favorite to be the No. 3 pick behind Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper.
The highest handle percentage of bets for the No. 3 pick is on Edgecombe, but the highest ticket percentage is on Ace Bailey.
I’d be stunned if Bailey lands with the Sixers, or anyone else for that matter, at No. 3, after all of the reports that came out over the last week.
Bailey’s behind-the-scenes crew has done all sorts of damage to his draft stock, so much so that the Rutgers product is now the favorite at BetMGM to be the No. 6 overall pick.
Most mock drafts have Edgecombe landing with the Sixers. The shooting guard averaged 16.2 points per game in his lone season at Baylor.
Regardless of who is chosen, the Sixers seem poised to land another scorer to partner Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain in the backcourt.
I’m in the minority that having a reliable big man in place in case Joel Embiid doesn’t play next season is the priority.
Look, I know you have to go for the volume scorer, but the worst-case scenario for Embiid keeps popping up into my head.
No. 3 is too early to take Duke’s Khaman Maluach or Maryland’s Derik Queen, so the second round is likely where the Sixers could target a big man.
NJ betting apps and PA sports betting apps won’t have odds on the No. 35 overall pick until after Wednesday’s first round ends. Oh, by the way, nice job NBA extending the draft into two days. We’re going to watch the second round on Thursday even though one or two of the players chosen from picks No. 31-60 will be major contributors.
Arkansas’ Adou Thiero, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner (I’d love that pick if it happens), Stanford’s Maxime Reynaud, and Auburn’s Johni Broome are among the potential second-round targets if the Sixers go in the direction of the big man.
For now, it’s all about V.J., or at least the total avoidance of Ace.
Joe Tansey writes sports betting posts for Crossing Broad and also covers the Philadelphia Union for his Substack site, Union Soccer Blog.