2024 NBA Draft : First Round Pick Zach Edey More Like Yao Ming Or Brook Lopez?

Edey is always the largest player on the court at seven feet four inches. His stature is special because he carries the weight that goes along with it. Taller players frequently lack the power to complete their inside game since they are so thin. At 290 pounds, Edey is also the largest player on the court all of the time.

2024 NBA Draft : First Round Pick Zach Edey More Like Yao Ming Or Brook Lopez?

When Edey gets to that level, his bulk will put him right in the race to be the heaviest player in the NBA.

Edey has started the last two seasons at center for Purdue after starting as a freshman off the bench. The Boilermakers have been one of the top teams in the nation during this time, mostly because due to his dominance in the paint. This is why he earned Naismith College Player of the Year as a junior.

All intra-racial comparisons were forbidden by NBA general manager Daryl Morey’s scout policy, he said, since “the mere fact that a player physically resembled some currently successful player could be misleading.”

“We’ve said, ‘If you want to compare this player to another player, you can only do it if they are a different race,'” Morey elaborated.

In sports media, Morey’s rule is rarely adhered to. Comparisons between white players might have some unfavorable effects. When it comes to Edey, the Purdue big man is frequently likened to Hall of Famer Yao Ming.

Recently, Jon Rothstein discussed the reasons Edey’s style of play is seen to be untranslatable to the NBA. In response, Rothstein drew a startling parallel between Zach Edey and Yao Ming.

“The guy that I think Zach Edey is most reminiscent of, in terms of the way that he’s playing, and I’m not saying he’s, but I felt like he has been a version of this player in college basketball, is Yao Ming,” Jon Rothstein said on Run It Back.”

“When you look at obviously the way that he can command such a presence on the floor and so on and so forth. And I think the big thing that we’ve seen about Zach Edey is that he’s gotten significantly better each year that he’s been at Purdue.”

Yao’s superb midrange jumper, exceptional post talent, outstanding passing, outstanding defense, and silky smooth midrange jumper helped him earn a spot in the Hall of Fame. In Edey’s game, many of those advantages also work against him. In addition to being extremely tall and skilled post players, both players are Chinese (Edey’s mother is Chinese Canadian). That is the only thing they have in common.

Zach Edey Any similarity sharing  young Brook Lopez ?

During the 2012–13 season, Lopez was an All-Star, assuming the position of a bruising big man with superb post moves. For the first nine years of his career, he averaged 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, which made him a prolific scorer for the Nets.

Nowadays, Lopez is regarded as a fantastic stretch big man. It wasn’t always like that. It wasn’t until his sixth year in the league that he made his first three. He had to essentially reinvent himself as a 3-point shooter because the game was evolving all around him. Because of this, he has continued into his mid-30s to be one of the league’s best starting centers.

Edey possesses the same level of post-dominance as Lopez. They both do a good job of using their enormous stature. And like a young Lopez, Edey does not stretch out from 3. But while Lopez always had some semblance of a midrange shot, Edey rarely shoots from outside.

Right now, Purdue is in the Sweet 16. Edey’s transition to the NBA has gained a lot of attention as he steps onto the largest platform in collegiate basketball. Before this season, I didn’t think of Edey as a first-round choice, but this year, I’ve changed my mind.

Our most recent mock draft before the event had Edey selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 18th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. His draft status extends to the early second round, with that being the upper end of it. In either case, Edey will have every chance to establish his eligibility for the NBA.

Zach Edey Like Al Jefferson?

The closest thing to Edey in terms of playing style and right-hand dominance is Al Jefferson. Using his bulk to his advantage, the 6-10, 280-pound big man made an All-NBA squad in 2013–14. His never-shooting-left-handed record was the first point of each scouting report. Despite this, Big Al finished his career with an average of 15.7 points per game.

The game surrounding Jefferson shifted quickly, and he started to fade. He was not a very good jump shooter and was not a very good defensive player. Though his game might not hold up well in the modern day, he was a dominant big man in the late 2000s.

Is Zach Edey good at basketball?

He is in the running to become the first player to win the AP Player of the Year title more than once since Ralph Sampson, another post-up big man, did so in the early 1980s. He is a unanimous choice for the first team All-American. Another concern is whether Edey and his style of play will translate to the NBA.

What nationality is Edey?

On May 14, 2002, Zach Edey was born in Toronto into the family of Glen and Julia Edey. His father is Caucasian, while his 6-foot-3-inch (1.91-meter) mother was born to Chinese immigrants in Toronto, where she played basketball as a child and grew up. In addition to playing baseball as a child, Edey grew up watching his father play the game.

Is Zach Edey a lottery pick?

Zach Edey, a center for Getty Purdue, has earned the right to be picked in the lottery for the 2024 NBA draft. According to the most recent predictions, Zach Edey—a center for the Purdue Boilermakers—may be selected in the lottery, which would boost his NBA draft prospects.

 

 

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