The 76ers are coming off a nail-biting 115-117 loss to the Cavaliers a few days ago. During a timeout in the first quarter, Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe were caught on camera yelling at each other intensely on the sidelines.
A new video from social media lip reader ‘Legendz,’ that has been shared on X, breaks down the inside details of what really happened during this exchange.
What VJ Edgecombe Really Said To Tyrese Maxey👀:
Maxey: “Where are you going, where?”
VJ: “You gotta go! You’re telling me I need to drop back?”
This came after a miscommunication on defense, leaving Donovan Mitchell wide open. pic.twitter.com/eCrwAsaHxn
— LegendZ (@legendz_prod) January 19, 2026
Maxey was allegedly questioning Edgecombe for helping with the defensive matchup instead of switching onto Donovan Mitchell. This allowed the Cavaliers’ All-Star to get free for his first points of the game.
Edgecombe seemingly at first stood his ground, saying it was Maxey who should have switched, hence seeming animated in the video. But eventually, even he understood that he could have read the defense and communicated better with Maxey on the court.
Before tonight’s game, their head coach, Nick Nurse, spoke to the media and addressed the 76ers guards’ viral exchange.
“Yeah, I think there was a switch. Coming up the floor, a possible switch that got Mitchell free for his first bucket of the game, I think that’s what happened,” said Nurse while explaining what led to the incident.
“I did see them conversing. But listen, I know who those guys are and their character and all that kind of stuff. They were doing it in a competitive, like ‘let’s get it right’ thing for sure.”
“Again, I think from my standpoint, I almost like it. Certainly not a big deal, but I almost like it that they have that much kind of emotion going into the game.”
“It was Mitchell’s first points in the game; we obviously, in that game, were trying to make his life really difficult, and that was the first time we let him get away. So those guys are good, no doubt about it,” concluded Nurse.
Therefore Nurse has confirmed that the exchange was nothing hostile or negative for the team’s culture, but rather two competitive young players pushing each other to be better.
Tyrese Maxey struggled to find efficiency that night, but he contributed in other places effectively and stuffed the box score. He finished the game with 22 points, five rebounds, nine assists, five steals, and two blocks while shooting 9-23 from the field (39.1%) and 2-8 from the three-point line (25.0%).
Meanwhile, Edgecombe ended up with 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists while shooting 4-5 from the floor (80.0%) and 2-2 from behind the arc (100.0%).
The 76ers have exciting young talent in their backcourt with Edgecombe now joining Jared McCain as a potential core piece for the future alongside Maxey, who, now as an All-Star starter, has cemented himself as the new face of the franchise.
But for now, Maxey has a lot more experience in the NBA than Edgecombe. Therefore, he needs to use his veteran experience to also push Edgecombe to become a better player daily.
Coach Nurse has attested to the character of these two young players and how they use such intense exchanges as fuel instead of letting it turn into something hostile or negative. Pushing each other as a team is what could change the culture in Philadelphia.
The 76ers came into tonight with losses in consecutive games to the Cavaliers. But they beat the Pacers, and they improved to 23-18 for the season. They are now set to host the Suns tomorrow on the second night of back-to-back games.
