Player of the Year Zach Edey enters 2024 NBA Draft

10 days ago

Purdue’s standout center Zach Edey has officially declared for the 2024 NBA draft.

Key points:

Edey, 21, submitted his paperwork to the league office, making him eligible for the 2024 NBA draft.
“I felt like it was time,” the 7-foot-4 athlete told ESPN. “I showed that I’m a physical presence on offense this season. I also showed I can play defense. I can guard in space, even defend guards.”
The NBA draft is set to take place over two days in New York City on June 26 and 27, with the first round at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the second round at ESPN’s studio in lower Manhattan.
Edey is projected to be a first-round pick in the draft, with reports suggesting that he could be chosen between the No. 14 to 25 range.

The details:

Edey, named the Naismith Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024, declared for the NBA draft after a standout senior season where he averaged a nation-leading 25.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. He is the first player to win unanimous National Player of the Year honors in 51 years; the last time it happened was with UCLA‘s Bill Walton in 1973.
Edey was also named to the 2021 Big Ten All-Freshman Team and won back-to-back first-team All-Big Ten honors and Big Ten Player of the Year awards in 2023 and 2024.
In his college career, Edey scored 2,516 points and made 1,321 rebounds, setting an all-time Purdue record. He also ranks fourth in all-time career blocks with 232.
In his six NCAA Tournament games, Edey averaged 29.5 points, 14.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 blocks.
Even though the Purdue Boilermakers lost to the University of Connecticut’s Huskies in the finals, Edey led the team with 37 points and 10 rebounds. This was the highest number of points scored in a title game since Duke’s Jack Givens in 1978.

About the Edeys:

Edey’s mother Julia is a first-generation Chinese Canadian who grew up in Toronto and has five siblings. His father, Glen, was also raised in Canada and played baseball in his youth.
Edey grew up playing ice hockey and baseball. It was not until 2017 when he started playing basketball as a sophomore in high school.
Before having her son, Julia also had aspirations to play professional basketball when she was young. Julia, who is 6-foot-3, told Wish TV in 2022 that she had to give up the dream to help out her parents run their Chinese takeout restaurant, which she began doing on the weekends when she turned 12.

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