Sports
Stephen A. Smith Named Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe as the Best Backcourt in the NBA
The 
Philadelphia 76ers are off to a surprisingly electric start. This franchise entered the 2025-26 season with a talented roster that was coming off a disappointing year due to individual underperformances and injuries.
Joel Embiid and Paul George played just 15 games together last season, while Tyrese Maxey was only available for 52 contests, all resulting in a 24-58 campaign for a preseason title contender.
The bright side of that disappointing season was that the 76ers were fortunate enough to land the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. And right now, Philadelphia’s selection, V.J. Edgecombe has been the most impressive rookie through six games.
In fact, thte former Baylor standout and Tyrese Maxey have been so good this early into the season that they’ve already won over Stephen A. Smith as the best backcourt in the NBA for a myriad of reasons.
Stephen A. Smith is a huge believer in the Philadelphia 76ers’ backcourt
The Philadelphia 76ers currently sit at 5-1 and first in the Eastern Conference. That is despite Paul George not making his season debut yet, and Joel Embiid looking like a shell of his former self.
Nick Nurse’s team, which is averaging 125.7 points per game, is led by its newest backcourt. Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe worked so well together immediately that they combined for 186 points through the first three games of the season, making them the highest-scoring duo to that point since 1970.
While the two of them have cooled off a little bit since, the 76ers certainly have their backcourt for the next decade to build around.
|
Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe 2025-26 Stats |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Category |
Tyrese Maxey |
V.J. Edgecombe |
|
Points per game |
33.7 |
20.3 |
|
Assists per game |
9.0 |
5.0 |
|
Rebounds per game |
4.8 |
5.0 |
|
Steals per game |
1.2 |
1.5 |
|
Blocks per game |
0.8 |
0.3 |
Stephen A. Smith, however, is confident that this pairing is already among the elite duos in the NBA. In a recent segment on ESPN’s First Take, Smith gave a detailed explanation for why he believes the 76ers might have the best backcourt right now and how they can become a title contender in his eyes.
“I walked into the season, believing that Daryl Morey had a couple of months, then after that, he probably would be out of a job. I watched Tyrese Maxey, who’s a stud, with that brother, VJ Edgecombe, in the Delaware area, Philadelphia, everywhere; these brothers are box office. And I’m telling you something right now. If not this year, by the end of next season, I believe there’s a legitimate argument that we will be saying that the Philadelphia 76ers have the best backcourt in the entire National Basketball Association. And I’m going to go this far…God help the basketball world if these two brothers keep looking the way they look, and a miracle happens and Joel Embiid gets healthy. Lord has mercy. Embiid healthy, with those brothers, they can contend for the title.”
The Philadelphia 76ers’ future has been reshaped by their star guards
The Philadelphia 76ers seemed to be in desolate shape a few weeks ago. The franchise’s two premier stars, Joel Embiid and Paul George, have two of the most unmovable contracts in the league.
And, at this stage of their careers, neither of these two future Hall of Famers have been healthy enough for the 76ers to heavily rely on them as the two primary options for a championship contender.
However, with the emergence of Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe, perhaps, Embiid and George only need to play supporting cast roles for this roster to make a playoff run.
Stephen A. Smith certainly thinks that is a possibility, but the question is, can the 76ers’ backcourt somewhat maintain this All-NBA level throughout the course of the regular season and postseason?
The Eastern Conference, on paper, feels more open than usual. The preseason favorites are the 
New York Knicks and 
Cleveland Cavaliers, but neither of those teams are considered to be untouchable.
Meanwhile, dark horse teams like the 
Atlanta Hawks and 
Orlando Magic are off to uneven starts, considering their expectations.
Overall, is Smith overreacting at this point in the season? Yes. But the early signs are encouraging, especially for V.J. Edgecombe at this stage of his development.
While Embiid and George’s contracts will be hard to move anytime soon, the future still should be bright in the City of Brotherly Love.
Arsenal have enjoyed a faultless start to their Champions League campaign, thanks to winning each of their first three fixtures without conceding a goal, and they will be looking to continue their rich vein of form when they make the trip from the Emirates Stadium to Slavia Prague on Tuesday.
The Gunners have already overcome Athletic Bilbao, Olympiacos and Atletico Madrid in the early stages of the league phase, which has allowed head coach Mikel Arteta to already become one of the leading contenders to win the competition despite never previously getting their hands on the ultimate prize.
Slavia Prague, under the stewardship of boss Jindrich Trpisovsky, are still searching for their first victory in the Champions League, but picked up draws against Bodo/Glimt and Atalanta either side of losing to Inter Milan. GIVEMESPORT has predicted who will be involved when the Czech side and Arsenal go head-to-head.
Slavia Prague Team News
Slavia Prague are in the midst of an injury crisis, meaning that the home side will be without a host of key men against Arsenal. Dominik Javorcek and Tomas Holes are out of contention as they continue their recovery from knee issues, while Filip Horsky and Petr Sevcik are long-term absentees after sustaining anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
Ivan Schranz will not be included in the side due to a muscle complaint, Igoh Ogbu is dealing with a hamstring problem and captain Jan Boril has already been confirmed as being out, highlighting that Trpisovsky is having to contend with a depleted squad as he prepares to welcome the Gunners to the Czech Republic.
Trpisovsky Drops Team News Update
Trpisovsky, speaking in his pre-match press conference, confirmed that his side will have to be at their best to overcome Arsenal. He said:
“Arsenal are really very complete and it’s hard to find any [weakness]. Plus, they have great player replacements. They are absolutely fine. They lead the Premier League, the best league in the world, and it shows in them.”
Slavia Prague Predicted XI
- Slavia Prague Predicted XI: Markovic; Zima, Chaloupek, Vlcek; Moses, Sadilek, Zafeiris, Mbodji; Provod; Chory, Chytil.
- Slavia Prague Predicted Substitutes: Stanek (GK), Rezek (GK), Hashioka (DEF), Dorley (DEF), Doudera (DEF), Kovar (DEF), Sanyang (MID), Sloncik (MID), Cham (FWD), Kusej (FWD), Prekop (FWD), Jelinek (FWD).
Arsenal Team News
Viktor Gyokeres is not in contention to feature for Arsenal after he was not involved in their training session on Monday afternoon, having suffered a muscular injury in the first half of the north Londoners’ win over Burnley last weekend and being forced to be withdrawn at the interval.
Fellow summer signing Martin Zubimendi will be absent against Slavia Prague after already picking up three bookings in the early stages of the league phase, leading to him having to serve a one-match suspension.
Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Noni Madueke and Martin Odegaard are out with knee problems, while Gabriel Martinelli and Kepa Arrizabalaga were among the names to not take part in training just 24 hours before facing Slavia Prague.
Defensive quartet Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori – who are on contracts worth a combined total of £330,000-per-week before bonuses – are expected to be on the bench alongside teenager Max Dowman.
Arteta Drops Team News Update
Arteta, speaking in his pre-match press conference, confirmed that Gyokeres will not be involved against Slavia Prague after picking up an injury at Burnley last time out. He said:
“He’s definitely not available. He hasn’t trained today (Monday), and we need to do some more tests and scans in the next few days to understand the extent of the injury.
“I am concerned because he hasn’t had many muscular issues. He had to leave the pitch and was feeling something, and that’s obviously never a good sign, especially for a player that is very, very explosive.
“We are digging a little bit more to understand where we are in terms of the injury, and we’ll announce the moment we know more.”
Arsenal Predicted XI
- Arsenal Predicted XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Eze, Norgaard, Rice; Saka, Merino, Trossard.
- Arsenal Predicted Substitutes: Setford (GK), Mosquera (DEF), Hincapie (DEF), Timber (DEF), Calafiori (DEF), Nwaneri (MID), Dowman (MID), Sagoe Jr (MID), Copley (MID), Ferdinand (FWD), Kamara (FWD), Oyetunde (FWD).
Tottenham Hotspur head coach Thomas Frank has been spending time at Hotspur Way contemplating whether to make a host of alterations to his starting line-up ahead of hosting Danish giants Copenhagen in a Champions League clash on Tuesday after being forced to contend with a derby defeat to rivals Chelsea last weekend.
Spurs’ return to Europe’s elite club competition has not been easy as, despite claiming a narrow victory over Villarreal in their opening fixture, they have been restricted to a further two points thanks to coming from behind to draw against Bodo/Glimt and only leaving Monaco with a share of the spoils following an inspired performance from Guglielmo Vicario.
Copenhagen, under boss Jacob Neestrup, are still searching for their first win of the league phase after having to negotiate the play-offs to clinch their place in this term’s Champions League. GIVEMESPORT has predicted who is on course to be involved when Tottenham and their visitors lock horns.
Tottenham Team News
Tottenham will be without a host of options for their encounter with Copenhagen, including Lucas Bergvall as concussion protocols mean he cannot be involved after being forced off early in the defeat to Chelsea last weekend, while Djed Spence and Mohammed Kudus are racing to prove their fitness after suffering minor issues.
Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie have returned from injury, with both coming off the bench last time out, and they are fighting to break into the starting line-up. But Archie Gray is still out with a calf issue, while the likes of Radu Dragusin, James Maddison, Yves Bissouma, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke have not been available for a prolonged period. Mathys Tel is ineligible.
Frank Drops Team News Update
Frank, speaking in his pre-match press conference, has confirmed that Bergvall is not in contention to feature against Copenhagen. The Danish tactician is waiting to discover whether Kudus and Spence have made a full recovery from their respective injuries. He said:
“Lucas [Bergvall] got concussion, which was pretty obvious from the footage. We have to give praise to the medical team because it is a tricky situation to be in. So well done to them because the players’ health is the most important thing. Djed [Spence] and Mo [Kudus] got a knock – they could and should be available tomorrow.”
Tottenham Predicted XI
- Tottenham Predicted XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Palhinha, Bentancur; Kudus, Simons, Odobert; Richarlison.
- Tottenham Predicted Substitutes: Kinsky (GK), Austin (GK), Danso (DEF), Udogie (DEF), Hardy (DEF), Byfield (DEF), Sarr (MID), Olusesi (MID), Johnson (FWD), Kolo Muani (FWD), Scarlett (FWD), Williams-Barnett (FWD).
Copenhagen Team News
Copenhagen have confirmed that 20 squad members boarded the flight to London, ahead of their meeting with Tottenham, but Magnus Mattsson, Rodrigo Huescas, Oliver Hojer, Thomas Delaney and Birger Meling were not among them as they are on the sidelines nursing injuries.
Although Marcos Lopez is poised to be involved in the matchday squad, the full-back is in a race against time to prove his fitness after he was forced off during the Danish Superliga victory over FC Fredericia last weekend. Gabriel Pereira has also been struggling with illness, but is expected to be named among the substitutes.
Neestrup Drops Team News Update
Neestrup, speaking in his pre-match press conference, admitted that he will be taking no risks when it comes to picking his side to start against Tottenham. The Copenhagen boss said:
“I do need to rotate. We won’t play anybody who we are in doubt of. With the players coming in, we’re taking no chance with anybody. We will play with a team that is the strongest and can compete the most.”
Copenhagen Predicted XI
- Copenhagen Predicted XI: Kotarski; Suzuki, Hatzidiakos, Garananga, Zague; Elyounoussi, Lerager, Silva, Achouri; Moukoko, Claesson.
- Copenhagen Predicted Substitutes: Runarsson (GK), Buur (GK), Pereira (DEF), Lopez (DEF), Madsen (MID), Clem (MID), Larsson (FWD), Cornelius (FWD), Dadason (FWD).
David Moyes has provided an update on Iliman Ndiaye after the forward was taken off with an apparent injury during Everton’s 1-1 draw at Sunderland.
The two Premier League sides shared the points at the Stadium of Light on Monday, with Ndiaye’s sensational first-half solo goal cancelled out by Granit Xhaka’s deflected finish after the interval.
Ndiaye, who scored his fourth goal of the season for the Toffees, was taken off at the hour mark and replaced by Dwight McNeil, with summer signing Tyler Dibling remaining on the bench.
Moyes Shares Iliman Ndiaye Injury Update
Moyes shared a positive update regarding Ndiaye when speaking post-match, suggesting the Senegal international had only picked up cramp;
“I don’t think it’s anything serious. I think he picked up a bit of cramp and was worried about it. It was a wonderful goal he scored – and typical Ili. He’s got dancing feet and it was a really good goal.”
Moyes also explained his decision to bring on McNeil instead of summer signing Dibling, who has played just 62 minutes of league football this term:
“Dwight’s been training really well these last couple of weeks and we thought it would be the right moment for him.”
Ndiaye is the only Everton player to score more than one goal in this Premier League campaign, with the 24-year-old registering five goal contributions in 10 starts for the Toffees.
The Senegal international is almost halfway to reaching last season’s goal tally (9) following a superb first-half effort at the Stadium of Light, which earned Everton a hard-fought point.
Everton’s form up front has been concerning this term, with strikers Beto and Thierno Barry combining for just one Premier League goal.
Barry, who was handed his third start of the campaign on Monday, had a perfect opportunity to open his scoring account but skied Jack Grealish’s cross from inside the six-yard box in the first half.
Everton have won just once in their last six Premier League games, a 2-1 home victory over Crystal Palace last month. The Toffees next host Fulham on Saturday before November’s international break.
Moyes’ side are 14th in the Premier League following the 1-1 draw at Sunderland, five points above the bottom three.
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