Grizzlies’ Rookies Making Impact for West’s No. 2 Team

Memphis’ two newbies are already making a positive impact for the West’s second-ranked team.

Dec 26, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey (14) shoots for three during the first quarter against the Toronto Raptors at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Memphis Grizzlies were one of the better teams in the NBA from 2021 to 2023, amassing multiple 50-win seasons with Ja Morant at the helm.

Last season, though, things went south. The team’s win-now core went through various injury stints, with Morant playing in just nine games. The result was just 27 wins in a tough West and a lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

In the 2024-25 season, many expected the Grizzlies to ramp back up to their previously winning ways. But they’ve gotten back to form quickly, largely due to the previous winning ways their primary core built, along with their talented newcomers.

With the No. 9 pick, the team grabbed Purdue center Zach Edey, one of the more prolific players in all of college basketball history. At No. 39, the team took a flier on Washington State forward Jaylen Wells.

Both players have been vital to winning efforts in their 20-plus minutes a night, and both are likely Rookie of the Year contenders at the moment.

Edey has scored 11.3 points per game on 60% shooting, leading the team in rebounding at eight per game with 1.2 blocks as well. For the most part, he still thrives with the same interior skillset that made him a potent collegiate player, but had added a twinge of modernity.

As a 6-foot-8 forward, Wells has thrived on the perimeter, scoring 11.5 points per game on 46% shooting overall and 39% 3-point shooting on 4.7 attempts per game. Even more, he’s been able to add 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists.

They’ve started 41 games between the two, with Wells frequenting on the wing.

Between the added production and return of the team’s stars, Memphis now sits at outright No. 2 in the Western Conference behind only the OKC Thunder. And in Oklahoma City on Sunday, Dec. 29 at 6 p.m., they’ll be able to close that gap even more with a win.

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