Ja Morant’s high praise for Zach Edey

Excitement is building as the Memphis Grizzlies gear up for the new NBA season. Much of the focus is on the return to health of core players Ja Morant and Desmond Bane and the addition of exciting rookie Zach Edey.

Morant has high expectations for Edey. The towering 7-foot-4 rookie caught the star point guard's attention during workouts in Dallas.

"Definitely rookie of the year," Morant told The Commercial Appeal , confident in Edey's abilities.

"Easily, too," he added.

Morant was impressed by how Edey handled the intensity of their training sessions, showcasing skills that exceeded expectations.

"For him to come in and say he wants to work out with me and then getting through the workout throughout the whole week, it was big-time for him," Morant said. "It made me excited to have him on the team. His skill set is even much better."

As the Grizzlies ramp up their training with player workouts and five-on-five sessions, the camaraderie between the incoming rookie and the rest of the team grows.

Morant suggests Edey is an underdog

There has been some buzz across the NBA world about Edey's potential, but Morant believes the young center is overlooked and underappreciated. Perhaps this is because in the 2024 NBA draft, more than a handful of teams passed on Edey, even though he had won two consecutive National Player of the Year awards at Purdue.

Ja, who himself embraces the underdog mentality, hopes Edey can do the same and use the doubts of those who misunderstood his upside as motivation.

Opening night will be a pivotal moment for Ja and Edey and the entire Memphis Grizzlies organization. For Ja, it will mark his return to an NBA game, his first since January. For Edey, it will be the first game of his NBA career. And for the Grizzlies, it will mark the start of a new era of Memphis basketball.

This new era will have a familiar guiding theme: Proving doubters wrong.

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