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Grizzlies Shock NBA World by Drafting Zach Edey With No. 9 Pick

Zach Edey was projected by most to go later in the first round.

Josh Wilson

Apr 8, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey (15) is defended by Connecticut Huskies center Donovan Clingan (32) in the national championship game of the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 8, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey (15) is defended by Connecticut Huskies center Donovan Clingan (32) in the national championship game of the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
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Zach Edey came into the 2024 NBA draft as one of the most intriguing prospects on the board. Still, the 7'4" big man out of Purdue was not expected to go much higher than the middle of the first round at earliest. Many liked him at No. 17 to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Edey played four years of college ball, so he's an older prospect, and teams generally prefer to select raw, younger talents with lottery picks in the draft. Yet, the Memphis Grizzlies, selecting at No. 9, decided they liked what they saw with Edey and used their pick on him.

The pick shocked the NBA world. Plenty of fans and analysts reacted to the pick on X, formerly known as Twitter, with several reacting to the fact that he went so much earlier in the draft than expected.

Edey, in his four years at Purdue, averaged 18.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. He was named AP Player of the Year twice and led his team as far as the title game in March Madness, only to fall to UConn a few months ago.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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