The time has come during the NBA offseason when various different players rankings are being released for next season. Memphis Grizzlies starting center Zach Edey has found himself not to be as highly touted as his NBA first team All-Rookie nod from last season would presume.
The 7'4" big man became more solidified in his role last season following the replacement of the head coaches for the team with nine games remaining in the regular season. After starting most of the season, he spent three games coming off the bench before former head coach Taylor Jenkins was fired.
Under interim head coach (interim tag is removed now) Tuomas Iisalo, Edey started the final 15 games of the regular season and all six of the team's postseason games with his best stretch of play during that time frame.
After averaging 9.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks during the 56 games played under Jenkins' tutelage, Edey upped his play to 9.3 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in eight regular-season games played under Iisalo. His minutes also increased from 20.6 to 27.8, and his field goal percentage rose from 57.1% to 64.6%.
Despite a clear uptick in production under a new regime during the season's most important time, national level media don't appear to buy the Zach Edey hype.
ESPN didn't rank Edey in their most interesting sophomores
Zach Edey's fellow starting teammate, Jaylen Wells, earned a nod at eighth on ESPN's most interesting sophomores lost heading into next season. Despite both players making the All-Rookie first team last season, Edey wasn't included in the top 10.
However, the caveat is that it wasn't a ranking of the best sophomores, just the most interesting. Also, it was noted that Edey was omitted from the list due to the offseason ankle surgery that is expected to cause him to miss some time to begin next season.
Since there is an unknown to the nature of his recovery, it makes sense why he like wasn't included in the top 10. That reason is likely included among others why he wasn't included in another prominent list heading into next season.
Edey ranked outside of top 15 of Western Conference centers
Iztok Franko of digginbasketball substack ranked the top centers in the West and Zach Edey ranked 16th out of the 30 players included. No player ranked below him is expected to be a starter, and he was even ranked below centers who either aren't starters, or didn't perform as well as he did last season.
Edey still has a lot to prove on the NBA level, but making the All-Rookie first team has to count for something. The play on the court will speak for itself, and Edey has the potential to continue bettering himself under the system that gave him the best stretch of his rookie season.