Sixers rookie Justin Edwards marks his first NBA dunk — on Draymond Green, no less

Justin Edwards might never forget his first, even if it doesn’t rank as his best.

Sitting at his locker, feet soaking in a bucket, the 76ers rookie flipped quickly through his brain’s Rolodex of dunks after the Sixers held off Golden State, 126-119, Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center.

Perhaps his puppies needed the postgame TLC after the 6-foot-7 forward took flight in the fourth quarter, finishing a two-handed dunk above Draymond Green, an eight-time NBA all-defensive team selection.

“It doesn’t top a couple of my high school dunks,” Edwards said with a smile. “But it’s up there. My first body in the NBA, so that might slip into one of the [top] spots.”

For the uninitiated: In basketball parlance, a player “catches a body” when he dunks on an opponent, who is then considered “the body.”

It happened during the first possession of the final frame.

Guerschon Yabusele caught the ball at the top of the key above the three-point line with the Warriors in zone defense. Edwards was spaced out in the corner opposite the Sixers’ bench.

“Yabu picked the ball up,” Edwards said, “and he gave me like a death stare.”

So the lithe lefty, once a McDonald’s All-American at Imhotep Charter, cut to the basket, received the feed from Yabusele, and finished through body contact with an almost gentle dunk (no foul was called).

The crowd’s reaction also was somewhat muted, perhaps because Green, a savvy veteran and former defensive player of the year in 2017, stymied Edwards’ upward steam with a forearm in his midsection.

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Sixers legend Charles Barkley often arrested the ascent of a would-be dunker by employing similar tactics.

Edwards’ dunk wasn’t just his first on a defender. It also helped the Sixers end a nine-game losing skid. He finished with four points in 16 minutes and supplied quality defensive possessions.

Perhaps making Saturday even more memorable, it came one night after Edwards’ alma mater, Imhotep, the five-time defending Public League champion, beat Catholic League champ Father Judge in the PIAA Class 6A city title game. Judge had beaten Imhotep in December.

Edwards, who was ranked the No. 1 player in the nation for months as a senior in high school, did not attend the game at La Salle University, but he watched online.

“I was telling everybody that we’re not going to lose twice to the same team,” he said. “We don’t lose to the PCL that much. So, yeah, I knew they [were] going to win.”

Imhotep junior point guard R.J. Smith, who started as a freshman when Edwards was a senior, led the shorthanded Panthers, who were missing key contributors due to injuries.

“It makes me feel good, honestly,” Edwards said of Smith’s leadership. “I feel like we did a good job. Our seniors that year, you know, we were on him a lot because he was like our secondary point guard. We expected a lot from R.J. at his young age. …”

Edwards, no doubt, will keep an eye on the Panthers as the PIAA playoffs begin next week.

After all, Edwards’ personal favorite dunk happened during his junior season, when Imhotep rolled New Castle, 54-39, at the Giant Center in Hershey.

“It was crazy,” he said.

Edwards stole a pass near midcourt, galloped down the floor, and then sprang above a defender with a thunderous left-handed hammer.

As memories go, this season might be hard for Edwards to forget.

The 21-year-old began this campaign as an undrafted rookie out of Kentucky on a two-way NBA contract. Last month, the Sixers converted Edwards to a standard NBA deal. Imhotep also made Edwards the first player in school history with a retired jersey number.

Edwards said he’s fond of writing down his goals. It’s unclear if “catch his first body” made the list.

Earning a standard contract in his first season did. Edwards said he told his mother, Ebony Twiggs, a standout player at University City High and then Cheyney University, that he would.

“I’m just going to continue to do what I’m doing,” he said “and hopefully [my goals] work out in my favor in the end.”