It can be a bit confusing since they’re technically the same sport, but college basketball and NBA basketball couldn’t be more different.
That’s one major reason why success at the college level is no guarantee of success as a pro. Of this past season’s five consensus first-team NCAA All-Americans, only one (first overall pick Cooper Flagg) was selected in the lottery of June’s NBA Draft. National champion Walter Clayton Jr. was taken at No. 18, while Auburn’s Johni Broome dropped to the Philadelphia 76ers early in the second round. Alabama star Mark Sears went undrafted, while Purdue’s Braden Smith elected to return for his senior year.
Only one 2022 first-team All-American, Keegan Murray, receives regular NBA playing time.
The dissonance is loud, and it makes sense when you really dig into the differences in style of play and the skill sets required to succeed at each level. Sixers rookie VJ Edgecombe, selected third overall, spoke on that exact subject when he recently joined teammate Paul George on the “Podcast P” show. While averaging 15 points, six rebounds and three assists per game in his only season at Baylor, Edgecombe earned second-team All-Big 12 honors — an impressive feat — but he failed to make any of the All-American teams.
The 20-year-old Bahamas native explained why his production at the college level isn’t necessarily commensurate with his status as an NBA prospect.
“I hate college basketball, personally,” Edgecombe said. “Some people love it. I don’t. There were two centers, two bigs sitting in the paint. I gotta to get to the cup — it was hard. It was bad. I’m like, ‘Bro, I got no space to operate.’
” … But now, the spacing in the NBA. It’s so much better. Plus you’re playing with elite players. … For me, it’s an easier game.”
You need only compare about five seconds of any college basketball game to an NBA game to see that the spacing is completely different. The NBA has a defensive three-second rule that prevents big men from camping out in the key to protect the rim, whereas college does not. As Edgecombe noted, that makes getting to the basket incredibly difficult. The NBA 3-point line is also deeper than its college counterpart, and the widespread shooting accuracy by the professionals creates a lot of ground for defenses to cover.
So how did it work out for Edgecombe playing the NBA style during summer league? Well, the space appears to have helped his performance in the paint. The rookie shot 10 for 17 (59%) at the rim in his two summer league appearances (one in Salt Lake City, one in Las Vegas), compared to 54% during his time at Baylor, per Synergy Sports.
You can see here as Edgecombe blows past a bigger defender on a switch, there is nobody waiting for him at the rim as he throws down a powerful finish.
And while the percentages weren’t there on his 3-point attempts (2 for 13 in his two games), he was “unguarded” on 67% of his catch-and-shoot attempts, per Synergy. At Baylor, that was the case only 37% of the time.
Just look at the room he has on this above-the-break 3-point attempt during the Las Vegas Summer League.
Contrast that with this claustrophobic Baylor possession from the Big 12 tournament, which leaves Edgecombe to force up a heavily contested 3-point attempt.
Edgecombe is an elite athlete who should make an immediate defensive impact for the Sixers, so shooting and playmaking will likely determine his ceiling. The difference in spacing between college and the NBA should go a long way in making both of those things a bit more manageable.
It should also help that Edgecombe will no longer be playing a game he hates.