Zach Edey's mother reveals his childhood nickname: Little Buddha

When the Memphis Grizzlies tip off their regular season Wednesday, October 23, at Utah, Zach Edey will become the tallest active player in the NBA, alongside the San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wenbanyama.

The journey of the 7-foot-4 rookie center to standing so tall and playing the best basketball league in the world started as an incredibly oversized newborn.

"He was eleven pounds and three ounces and he was almost 24 inches long. So, way over the averages," Edey's mother Julia told CBS Sports in 2023 . "We actually called him Little Budha because he was such a big Kid."

"His whole life is a growth spurt"

Edey, who some expect will be the Grizzlies' secret weapon in the 2024-25 season and a " game changer " for Memphis, started his athletic journey playing ice hockey and baseball . His mother said he has never stopped growing since he was a baby.

"He's had a steady always growth spurt. His whole life is a growth spurt," Julia said. "I think the last time he had a teacher that was taller than him was in grade 2."

Edey insists there were two high school years when he made a huge leap in size.

"I went from 6"2 at the start of 7th grade to 6"10 leaving 8th grade," Edey recalled. "I went from pretty tall to stupid tall, basically."

"Most athletic 7-foot-4, 300-pound guy in the country"

All that growth helped Edey when he arrived at the college level. In his four seasons with the Purdue Boilermakers, Zach improved his basketball skills every campaign, eventually becoming the best player in the country.

Edey was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and consensus National Player of the Year in his Junior and Senior seasons.

By the end of his college career, he made a name for himself across the country as one of the most unique big men.

"He's got to be the most athletic 7-foot-4, 300-pound guy in the country," Purdue coach Matt Painter told The Ringer in 2023 . "There's just not very many people at that size that can run the way he can and move."

Painter pointed out the relentlessness with which Edey chases rebounds, no matter where the ball lands. "That's not normal for somebody that size."

With NBA's tallest player title in his hands, Zach Edey's mission in his rookie season will be to prove that he's got more than just size.

Related: Kid Zach Edey was devoted to ice hockey and baseball