Canadian Zach Edey turned heads starting his NBA career with the Memphis Grizzlies

Canadian NBA rookie Zach Edey is living up to his advanced billing as just nine games into his NBA career, the Memphis Grizzlies center scored 25 points and 12 boards on Monday night.

Both are career highs for the seven-foot-four-inch rookie, though his team fell short to the Brooklyn Nets by a score of 106-104.

Edey, who was selected ninth overall in the 2024 NBA Entry Draft, is currently the favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

Fanduel has Edey’s odds at +380, just ahead of Washington Wizards rookie Carlton Carrington (+500), who was selected with the 14^th pick in last June’s draft.

The top two picks in last June’s draft, Alexandre Sarr, who was selected second overall by the Washington Wizards, and Zaccharie Risacher, who went first overall to the Hawks, are the only other players with odds under 10-1 currently.

Monday night’s output was a far cry from his season opener, as he fouled out of the Grizzlies’ opener against the Utah Jazz in just 14 minutes of playing time.

The quick exit set a new standard, according to Opta Stats, as the Toronto native became the first player since the NBA-ABA merger to exit so quickly.

Edey, who was drafted by the Grizzlies out of Purdue, joined Memphis after being named the Naismith College Player of the Year for the second straight year.

He was the first player to do so since legendary Houston center Ralph Sampson did it in 1982 and 1983. Sampson went on to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1984.

Before playing college basketball at Indiana State, Edey spent a few years at IMG Academy in Florida.

He ended up in Florida on the recommendation of his AAU coach Vidal Massiah, who coached him for three years when he was a member of the Northern Kings.

Massiah and the Northern Kings have helped develop more than 100 players to American colleges to play basketball.

Massiah, who also played Division 1 NCAA for St. Bonaventure, said he helped him with plans for schooling to achieve his success.

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“I kind of understood where he was and maybe what would be good for him,” he explained. “So we helped him formulate a plan to get him to where he is.”

Based on Pickering, Massiah says all the current Northern Kings are excited about Edey’s performance.

“Our entire program is super proud of him and all the kids in the program coming behind him are super inspired as well as our families,” he said.

Edey’s big show on Monday night has also caught the attention of a number of people who follow the NBA closely.

Vidal believes that this is only the beginning for his former student.

“I think he will continue to surprise people and turn heads,” he said.

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