Team Vince Wins 2026 NBA Rising Star Tournament Behind VJ Edgecombe’s MVP Performance

Jacob Perrine
Team Vince guard VJ Edgecombe (77) of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots against Team T-Mac guard Kon Knueppel (7) of the Charlotte Hornets during an NBA All Star Rising Stars game at Intuit Dome.

In what has become one of the more popular events at NBA All-Star weekend over the past few years, it was the team coached by NBA legend Vince Carter that stood tall as they won this year’s Rising Star tournament.

NBA Rising Star Tournament Structure and This Season’s Field Of Teams

After the NBA changed the format for the Rising Stars game by turning the event into a round robin tournament featuring 4 teams, it has allowed for lesser-known young players to receive a bit more shine. This year’s tournament featured 4 new teams coached by former NBA stars, with this season’s coaches featuring Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Carmelo Anthony, and Austin Rivers.

Three of those teams would be comprised of both NBA rookies and sophomores, while the fourth team would be made up of G-League players. Each team played one semifinal game, with the winner of each game advancing to the championship round. The semifinals had a target score of 40 and would end when one team reached that score, while the championship game would be to only 25.

Semifinals Results

Coming into the tournament, the team coached by Anthony was widely viewed as the favorite to win the tournament. Team Melo was stacked with players like the reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs), Donovan Clingan (Portland Trail Blazers), Dylan Harper (San Antonio Spurs), and Jeremiah Fears (New Orleans Pelicans). Team Melo was also expected to have Dallas Mavericks star rookie Cooper Flagg, but he would be forced to miss the event due to a foot sprain.

Team Melo looked poised to live up to the hype early on in the tournament. They handily defeated Team Austin 40-34 behind a clutch three-pointer by Harper to advance to the championship round. That three also had a bit more riding on than just sending Team Melo to the final round, as Harper sunk the dagger triple while being guarded by his brother, Ron Harper Jr.

On the other side of the tournament bracket, Team Vince, which was led by young stars such as VJ Edgecombe (Philadelphia 76ers), Matas Buzelis (Chicago Bulls), and Derik Queen (New Orleans Pelicans), made short work of Team McGrady in their semifinal game. Of course, that easy win came from the stellar performance of Edgecombe, who scored nearly half of his team’s 41 points, including the final 10 points to lift Team Vince to the championship round.

Championship Round Ends In Thrilling Fashion

After an exciting but relatively non-close finish in the semifinals, both teams would stay neck and neck for much of the championship round as each side scrambled to reach the 25-point target. Team Melo had the ball down 23-22, needing just a three-pointer to beat Team Vince and take home all the glory. Unfortunately, Team Melo was unable to find any space to get a three off cleanly and would have to settle for a putback lay-up from Castle to take a 24-23 lead.

Thankfully for Team Vince, they had Edgecombe on their side as the Sixers’ star rookie drove hard to the basket and was able to draw a shooting foul on Clingan. Edgecombe sank the two clutch free throws to seal the win for Team Vince. Edgecombe stood tall above all of his young companions. He scored the most points in the tournament with 23 and took home the Rising Stars MVP in the process.