The 2024-25 Memphis Grizzlies media day is approaching soon, meaning training camp and preseason are right behind. As the Grizzlies prepare to right the wrongs of a lost season, there is a sense of excitement about the team’s depth that hasn’t been present since the first 50-win and 2-seed 2021-22 squad.
The injury-riddled 2023-24 season brought out some unexpected positives, both on the roster and with the lottery draft pick that came because of the tumultuous season. With that said, if the Grizzlies want to return to their back-to-back 50-win and 2-seed form, the impact of these players will be the key to Western Conference contention:
3. Zach Edey
The 7’4” number 9 pick from Purdue is expected to immediately step into the starting center role for a team that severely lacked at that position throughout the last season and a half. The Grizzlies were one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA (top 5 every season from 2019-2023) when Jonas Valanciunas and Steven Adams were the starting centers for the team.
Without the services of Steven Adams and backup frontcourt mate Brandon Clarke for most of last season and the second half of the 2022-23 season, the Grizzlies fell to the bottom half of the league in rebounds per game.
Jaren Jackson Jr. was forced to play a lot of minutes at center last season and while that works for the team in spurts, it is not the position that is best suited for him to play the majority of his minutes and expect the Grizzlies to succeed. In comes Zach Edey who averaged 12.9 and 12.2 rebounds over his last two college seasons, in which he won back-to-back player of the year.
Edey’s impact will determine a lot for this team considering he is the only true center currently on the active roster. The group behind includes power forward/undersized center Brandon Clarke, combo forward Santi Aldama, and two-way contract center Jay Huff. The pressure is warranted because Edey has been favored to win Rookie of the Year by multiple sportsbooks and league executives.