Memphis Grizzlies All-Rookie center Zach Edey re-sprained his left ankle in an offseason workout earlier this week, will undergo surgery to restabilize the ankle and will likely miss the beginning of the 2025-26 season, sources tell ESPN.
“After consulting with the Grizzlies and multiple specialists, we decided this is the best approach for Zach long-term as it gets him back to 100% with no limitations. He will make a full recovery and be back better than ever,” Edey’s representative, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, told ESPN on Saturday.
Edey (73 first-team votes, 27 second-team votes) joined San Antonio’s Stephon Castle and Atlanta’s Zaccharie Risacher as the only players to appear on all 100 ballots for the NBA All-Rookie Team. Grizzlies teammate Jaylen Wells and Washington’s Alex Sarr rounded out the All-Rookie squad.
Edey finished fifth in the NBA’s Rookie of the Year voting, which Castle won.
The ninth overall pick of the 2024 NBA draft, Edey led all rookies in field goal percentage (58%) and rebounds per game (8.3), in addition to ranking No. 4 in blocks, while finishing second overall in plus-minus (plus-164). He also logged 12 double-doubles (points/rebounds) on the season, the most by a Memphis rookie since Marc Gasol accomplished the feat during the 2008-09 campaign.
Edey averaged 15.7 rebounds over a six-game span in April, logging a career-high 21 boards in an Apr. 5 victory at Detroit, breaking a franchise rookie record that stood for 29 years.
He also dealt with ankle issues during the season and missed 12 games after spraining his left ankle on Nov. 17 in a win over the Denver Nuggets.
Edey called his rookie campaign “very up and down” in part due to the injury.
“There’s a lot of good to take from it, a lot of things I can work on,” Edey said during the team’s exit interviews in late April. “For me, stringing games together was the big thing. Once I get in a rhythm, get in that flow and didn’t have to worry about a little ankle roll or something like that holding me back, I think that’s when I started taking off. That’s one thing I’ll really remember.”
#Sources #Grizzlies #Edey #ankle #start #season
