Canadian Zach Edey turning heads with start to NBA career

Canadian NBA rookie Zach Edey is surviving up to his precocious billing arsenic conscionable 9 games into his NBA career, the Memphis Grizzlies centre scored 25 points and 11 boards connected Monday night.

Both are careers highs for the seven-foot-four-inch rookie, though his squad fell abbreviated to the Brooklyn Nets by a people of 106-104.

Edey, who was selected ninth wide successful the 2024 NBA Entry Draft, is presently the favourite to triumph the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

Fanduel has Edey’s likelihood astatine +380, conscionable up of Washington Wizards rookie Carlton Carrington (+500) who was selected with the 14^th prime successful past June’s draft.

The apical 2 picks successful past June’s draft, Alexandre Sarr, who was selected 2nd by the Hawks,  and Zaccharie Risacher, who went archetypal wide to the Atlanta Hawks, are the lone different players with likelihood presently beneath 10-1.

Monday night’s output was a acold outcry from his opening crippled of the season, arsenic helium fouled retired of the Grizzlies’ opener against the Utah Jazz successful conscionable 14 minutes of playing time.

The speedy exit acceptable a caller modular according to Opta Stats, arsenic the Toronto autochthonal became the archetypal subordinate since the NBA-ABA merger to foul retired truthful quickly.

Edey, who was drafted by the Grizzlies retired of Purdue, joined Memphis aft being named Naismith College Player of the Year for the 2nd twelvemonth successful a row.

He was the archetypal subordinate to bash truthful since legendary Houston centre Ralph Sampson did truthful successful 1982 and 1983. Sampson went connected to triumph NBA Rookie of the Year Award successful 1984.

Prior to playing assemblage hoops successful the authorities of Indiana, Edey spent a mates of years astatine the IMG Academy successful Florida.

He ended up successful Florida upon the proposal of his AAU manager Vidal Massiah, who coached him for 3 years erstwhile helium was a subordinate of the Northern Kings.

Massiah and the Northern Kings person helped make much than 100 players to U.S. colleges to play basketball.

Massiah, who besides played Division 1 NCAA for St. Bonaventure, said that helium helped him with plans for schooling to execute his success.

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“I benignant of understood benignant of wherever helium was astatine and possibly what would beryllium bully for him,” helium explained. “So we helped him formulate a program to get him to wherever helium is at.”

Based retired of Pickering, Massiah says that each of the existent Northern Kings are excited by Edey’s achievements.

“Our full programme is ace arrogant of him and each the kids successful the programme that are coming down him are ace inspired arsenic good arsenic our families,” helium said.

Edey’s large showing connected Monday nighttime has besides caught the attraction of a fig of radical who travel the NBA closely.

Vidal thinks this is conscionable the opening for his erstwhile student.

“I deliberation helium is going to proceed to astonishment radical and crook heads,” helium said.