Jaren Jackson Jr. is one of the NBA's best two-way players, and the Grizzlies rewarded him with a five-year, $240 million extension this offseason. However, the team has had to be strategic with their roster construction to limit his weaknesses, including pairing him with a bruising center for the majority of his career.
At 6'10" and with a game that expands behind the three-point line, many prognosticators believed the Grizzlies would be a better team with him at the center position. However, due to his 5.5 rebounding average, making that a possibility is nearly impossible without a frontcourt mate who can cover for that deficiency.
However, the Grizzlies have ranked in the top 10 in the NBA in team rebounding five of the last six seasons. Last season, they quietly finished near the top of the NBA in rebounds and rebounding percentage thanks to an important move the team made last summer.
Zach Edey made an impact during his rookie season
Jaren Jackson Jr.'s rebounding struggles are not secret, but the Grizzlies had a 77% defensive rebounding rate when he was on the court last season. That number dropped to 72% when he was off the court because of the strides he made with boxing out for others when he couldn't grab the rebound himself.
Adding Zach Edey to the lineup helped him immensely after Jackson Jr. spent the 2023-24 season without a true starting center next to him consistently. The Grizzlies' rebounding numbers showed that, as that was their only season since 2019 that they finished outside of the top 10 in rebounds per game as a team.
Two separate seasons, each of which had Jonas Valanciunas (2019-2021) and Steven Adams (2021-2023) manning the middle next to Jaren, were the recipe for success on the boards for Memphis. Last season, Zach Edey provided similar value, leading the team with 8.3 rebounds per game, which helped rank the team second in the NBA behind the Houston Rockets.
Zach Edey only figures to get better at that department, and the Grizzlies added Jock Landale from the Rockets to keep pace when he is off the court. All players have weaknesses, and Jaren Jackson Jr.'s weakness is polarizing, but the team has found a way to maintain despite it. His strengths more than make up for his rebounding weakness as long as the team ensures it has it taken care of in other ways, like how he covers for the weaknesses of others.