Zach Edey Shines Despite Grizzlies Loss to Lakers

With the 2024-25 season winding down, the Memphis Grizzlies are amid a close battle in the middle of the Western Conference, desperately needing every win they can get.

Despite suffering a crucial loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, the team’s young core continued to come alive just weeks out from the NBA Playoffs, including No. 9 pick Zach Edey.

With the Lakers having traded off superstar center Anthony Davis to Dallas in exchange for Luka Doncic — a no-brainer trade on Los Angeles’ end — the team has been left barren in the front court. And Edey took advantage on Saturday night.

From the starting lineup, Edey poured on 14 points on a wildly efficient 7-for-10 shooting, adding a team-high 11 rebounds as well as three blocks, two assists and one steal. His size at 7-foot-4 was near-unstoppable, as he got to the rim and finished with relative ease for most of the night.

Despite the loss, Edey’s continued growth was a silver lining for a team very much needing one at the moment. Just days ago, it was announced following a blowout loss to OKC that head coach Taylor Jenkins would be relieved of his duties.

After a small mid-season lull, Edey has begun to find his rhythm as the postseason nears. In his last six contests, the former Purdue big man has scored 10.2 points per game, issuing eight blocks in total. In that same span, he finished a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line, and even cashed in on two of his three attempts from beyond the arc.

The game was vitally important to the standings, too, as the teams were tied coming into the game. With the loss, Memphis is now one full game behind the Lakers for the No. 4 seed, which would theoretically decided postseason home court for the two teams.

The Grizzlies next take on the defending-champion Boston Celtics on Monday, March 31, desperately needing another win. They have just seven games left on their regular season schedule before the postseason.