Justin Edwards (born December 16, 2003) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

. He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2023 class.

Early life and high school career

Edwards grew up in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania, and attended Imhotep Institute Charter High School. He helped Imhotep win the Philadelphia City championship as a sophomore. As a junior, Edwards averaged 18.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game and led the Panthers to the PIAA Class 5A state championship. He played in the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the ...

following the season. Edwards was selected to play in the 2023 McDonald's All-American Boys Game. He was also selected to play for Team USA in the

Nike Hoops Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of international players. The players demonstrate their ...

. As a senior, Edwards averaged 17.9 points and 7.5 rebounds as the Panthers repeated as state champions. He was named Mr. Pennsylvania Basketball.

Recruiting

Edwards was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2023 class, according to major recruiting services. He was rated as the #1 overall recruit in the nation by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

in January 2023. On July 25, 2022, Edwards committed to playing college basketball for

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

after considering offers from

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, Auburn,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and Villanova. He also considered playing professionally in the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

College career

Edwards enrolled at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

in June 2023. During the summer before his freshman year he played for the Wildcats in the GLOBL JAM tournament in Canada and averaged 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals over four games as the team went undefeated and won the tournament. Edwards averaged 8.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 32 games played during his freshman season. After the season, he declared for the

2024 NBA draft The 2024 NBA draft was the 78th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft. Unlike recent years, the 2024 draft took place over two nights. This was the first NBA draft to be held on multiple nights since the draft ...

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

, Edwards signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with the

on July 4, 2024. On January 14, 2025, Edwards scored a career-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting in a 118–102 loss to the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

. On February 9, the 76ers signed him to a standard NBA contract. On March 21, Edwards tied a career-high 25 points in a 128–120 loss to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

Career statistics

College

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, 32 , , 30 , , 21.4 , , .486 , , .365 , , .776 , , 3.4 , , .9 , , .9 , , .2 , , 8.8

Personal life

Edwards's mother, Ebony Twiggs, played college basketball at

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1837 as the Institute for Colored Youth, it is the ...

and overseas in Portugal.

References

External links

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Kentucky Wildcats bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Justin 2003 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia Delaware Blue Coats players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Philadelphia 76ers players Shooting guards Small forwards Undrafted NBA players