VJ Edgecombe Says Viral Video with Cooper Flagg Stemmed from Stepover, 'All Love'
The Philadelphia 76ers' VJ Edgecombe explained what led to the viral video of the Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg seemingly trash-talking him when the two competed in high school in an appearance on Monday's episode of Podcast P with Paul George.
"It's a friendly rivalry. Off the court, we're close," Edgecombe said about Flagg at the 41:45 mark of the podcast. "We're close, but we know on the court we're competing. And we're both competitors... We know, at the end of the day, it's all love between me and Coop."
The Sixers rookie went on to explain the video that recently surfaced of Flagg appearing to tell him "You not like that" during a game between LuHi and Montverde.
"The reason why he said that, people thought he said it because, oh, he thinks I'm bad or something," Edgecombe said. "No, I stepped over him. He was on the floor. He got the last shot of the third quarter. And walking to my bench, I see him on the floor, and I just walked over him."
Edgecombe continued, "I had like 20-something that game. He can't say I'm not like that.
"We talk about this all the time. I literally stepped up— he was on the floor. He shot, flopped, tried to get a foul. I was like, bro, that ain't no foul. And I just walked over him, and then I walked to my bench, and then he came back."
Edgecombe then brought up another conversation between himself and Flagg that similarly went viral after the former Duke star stepped up to the free-throw line during a second-round matchup against Baylor.
"I told him, I was like, 'Bro, don't flop,'" Edgecombe said. "I'm like, 'I know you're going to get the call, but don't flop, bro.' Like, 'It looks bad.' And we were just smiling about it. After the game, it was like, 'Coop talking to VJ again.' I'm like, 'Oh my God, bro.
"But it's for clicks. I don't worry about it."
Flagg went on to join the Mavericks with the top pick of the 2025 draft, while the Sixers brought in Edgecombe with the third pick. Both are expected to be rotation players during their respective rookie seasons.
The two first-round picks seemed friendly with one another when competing in a skills challenge at halftime of a Summer League game earlier this month:
Fans will find out when they can expect to watch the first regular-season matchup between Edgecombe and Flagg when NBA schedules are released. Last season's schedule release took place on Aug. 15.
