NBA Boilers: Former NBA All-Star Casts More Doubt on Zach Edey

Zach Edey seems to face doubt at every turn. Even after earning first-team honors on the NBA's All-Rookie Team in 2025, a former three-time league All-Star is casting doubt on the 7-foot-4 center's potential to become a star for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Former Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas recently spoke on his podcast, Gil's Arena, about Edey's potential to become a superstar in the league. While he acknowledged that the former Purdue star had a solid rookie season, he believes the center's age is a big factor in his potential.

"He's 23, he's Ant-Man's (Anthony Edwards) age," Arenas said. "His group is Ant-Man, all the kids from Houston, Paolo Banchero is still younger than him... Kuminga is still younger than him. Some kids have been in the league for four or five years. His ceiling is whatever it is. Solid big man, but he's not going to be a superstar."

Edey averaged 9.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game for the Grizzlies in his first season in the NBA. He played in 66 games and made 55 starts. He missed 16 games due to injury.

What has created a lot of hype and optimism around Edey entering his second season is the way his rookie year concluded. Once the Grizzlies moved on from coach Taylor Jenkins and tabbed Tuomas Iisalo as interim, the rookie big man thrived.

Memphis played 15 games after the swap, nine regular-season contests, two more in the NBA Play-In Tournament, and four games in the first round of the playoffs. In that stretch, Edey posted 9.1 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks. The 7-foot-4 center recorded five double-doubles in the final 15 games. In the Play-In Tournament, he accounted for 39 points and 28 rebounds in games against the Golden State Warriors (loss) and Dallas Mavericks (win).

Even with the way Edey finished his rookie season, Arenas says that age is still a major factor. He does believe the former Purdue star will have a "solid" NBA career, but he won't become a superstar in the league.

"Nine and eight is solid... for a rookie, yeah great," Arenas said. "For a 23-year-old, that's what they're looking at, you're not on the same value... If we stop everybody and say, alright, Edey is 23, we know his numbers at 23, take everybody else, what would your numbers be like at 23? Can you imagine what [Stephon] Castle's numbers would be like at 23 years old?"

Edey was selected ninth overall by the Grizzlies in the 2024 NBA Draft. He was a two-time National Player of the Year while at Purdue and became the program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder.