Ages 21 to 41, top-3 picks and wild parallels: Inside Sixers’ new lineup

Ages 21 to 41, top-3 picks and wild parallels: Inside Sixers’ new lineup originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

LeBron James had completed two NBA seasons by the time VJ Edgecombe was born.

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More than two decades later, the two are expected to start alongside each other when the Sixers open their season Tuesday night against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

James and Edgecombe bookend a projected starting five assembled from opposite ends of the NBA timeline. Its members were drafted across 22 years, from James at No. 1 in 2003 to Edgecombe at No. 3 in 2025.

All five were first-round picks. Four were selected within the first three picks of their respective drafts.

James went first overall in 2003. Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown were each selected third in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Tyrese Maxey went 21st in 2020. Edgecombe became the third overall pick in 2025.

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That collection of draft pedigree is exceptionally rare.

An NBC Sports Philadelphia review of the starting lineup each NBA team used in its first regular-season game over the past 30 seasons found only three with at least four players selected within the first three picks of their drafts.

That is three of 892 team-season opening lineups from 1996-97 through 2025-26, or 0.34 percent.

The 2007-08 Denver Nuggets opened with No. 1 picks Allen Iverson and Kenyon Martin, No. 2 pick Marcus Camby and No. 3 pick Carmelo Anthony. Yakhouba Diawara completed the lineup.

A decade later, Boston opened consecutive seasons with the same four top-three picks. Kyrie Irving was selected first overall, while Al Horford, Brown and Jayson Tatum each went third. Gordon Hayward, the ninth pick in 2010, was the fifth starter in both 2017 and 2018.

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If and when the Sixers use their projected five Tuesday, they will join those three modern-era examples. Their exact arrangement of one No. 1 pick and three No. 3 picks would match Boston’s.

Brown provides the link between the groups. He appeared in both Boston lineups and would become part of three of the four qualifying opening fives identified in the study.

His place within them has…

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Publish date : 2026-10-17 07:00:00

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