Zach Edey has been chosen ninth total in the NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.
The 22-year-old centre from Toronto is the primary Canadian to be drafted this 12 months.
Edey averaged 25.2 factors, 12.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and two assists over 39 video games for the Purdue Boilermakers in the 2023-24 season.
His NCAA profession common was 18.2 factors, 9.6 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and 1.3 assists over 4 seasons with Purdue.
Those numbers are skewed decrease as he began solely twice in his freshman 12 months and performed half as many minutes per sport that season.
The seven-foot-four large man gained the Naismith Award on April 7 as U.S. faculty basketball’s participant of the 12 months for a second time. He is just the third male participant to win back-to-back Naismiths, becoming a member of Hall of Famers Ralph Sampson and Bill Walton.
Hawks take Risacher
The Atlanta Hawks took Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 pick, the second straight 12 months a participant from France was the primary participant chosen.
Risacher would not come with the big top or hype of Victor Wembanyama, the towering centre who went to San Antonio final 12 months and went on to win the Rookie of the Year award.
But the Hawks noticed him as your best option in what has been considered as a draft absent of elite expertise.
The 19-year-old ahead was the winner of the most effective younger participant award in the French League final season and beat out large males Alex Sarr, a fellow Frenchman, and UConn’s Donovan Clingan in the race to be the highest pick.
When he did, it made NBA draft historical past. This is the primary time that the draft has gone consecutive years with out the No. 1 pick being somebody who performed at an American faculty.
Sarr went second to the Washington Wizards after enjoying final 12 months with Perth in Australia’s National Basketball League.
The Hawks had solely a 3 per cent likelihood of profitable the lottery to earn the No. 1 pick, and there was no apparent selection ready as soon as they did. Most mock drafts have been cut up between Risacher and Sarr, and Atlanta additionally labored out Clingan.
Houston made Kentucky freshman Reed Sheppard the No. 3 pick. A one-and-done faculty participant had topped the draft for 13 straight years from 2010-22 earlier than Wembanyama ended that streak.
Now it is France’s time on the prime.
