Zach Edey lands with rising Western Conference contender in recent mock draft

After playing for a national title in April, two-time men's college basketball player of the year Zach Edey might quickly contend for an NBA title.

That's if NBA analyst Kevin O'Connor's most recent mock draft for The Ringer , updated on June 4, comes true. O'Connor has the Oklahoma City Thunder selecting Edey at No. 12 overall, a pick they acquired in the 2019 Russell Westbrook-Chris Paul trade with the Houston Rockets.

"Edey addresses Oklahoma City's need for size and adds a totally different interior ingredient to their offense with his interior scoring, offensive rebounding and screening," O'Connor wrote.

"And if there's anyone who can turn Edey's touch around the basket into reliable 3-point shooting, it's assistant coach Chip Engelland," he added.

In 2023-24, Edey averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. He led Purdue to its first national championship game appearance since 1969 and scored 37 points and added 10 rebounds in the 75-60 loss to juggernaut UConn.

Edey swept the six major men's college basketball National Player of the Year awards for the second consecutive season, becoming the first player since Bill Walton (1972-73) to do so.

He finished his career third in Big Ten history in scoring (2,516 points), second in rebounds (1,321) and first in field goal percentage (62.1).

Despite Edey's glowing accolades, he entered the NBA Draft with skeptics, driven by concern over how his post-centric game will translate in a league dominated by stretch bigs and his ability to defend when switched onto smaller, quicker defenders.

His outstanding NBA Draft Combine performance shed some concerns, with several outlets naming him a "winner" of the draft event.

"Among the biggest personal wins for him was posting a faster lane agility time than other center prospects like Alex Sarr, Yves Missi and Donovan Clingan," CBS Sports' Kyle Boone wrote .

If selected by Oklahoma City, he'd join a young, ascending roster that includes 2023-24 MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Rookie of the Year runner-up Chet Holmgren.

Edey would fill a huge need for the Thunder, which ranked 28th in rebound rate (48.4%) during the regular season.

Oklahoma City (57-25) entered the playoffs as the West's No. 1 seed. It reached the second round, where it lost in six games to the Mavericks.