Zach Edey clearly had made a good first NBA impression with bookmakers.
Edey is now the consensus betting favorite for Rookie of the Year after his outstanding Summer League debut with the Memphis Grizzlies.
A polarizing draft prospect because of questions over how his game would translate to the NBA level, Edey was considered a long shot for Rookie of the Year when betting for the award opened late last month, with some sportsbooks offering odds as high as +1,400 on the former Purdue star.
But two days after recording a double-double against the Jazz, Edey (+600) was listed as the co-favorite — along with Washington’s Alex Sarr — for Rookie of the Year at ESPN BET as of Wednesday morning.
Edey also is +600 for Rookie of the Year at both DraftKings and FanDuel and is a slight favorite over Sarr at both sportsbooks.
Sarr, the No. 2 overall pick in last month’s NBA draft, is +650 at DraftKings and +700 at FanDuel. Zaccharie Risacher, drafted first overall by the Hawks, is +700 at DraftKings and +750 at both ESPN BET and FanDuel.
Edey, who became the first player in more than 40 years to win The Associated Press’ men’s college basketball player of the year award in back-to-back seasons, was taken by Memphis with the ninth pick was labeled as a “special fit” for the Grizzlies by general manager Zach Kleiman.
The 7-foot-4 Edey certainly looked special Monday in the Grizzlies’ Salt Lake City Summer League game, finishing with 14 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in 34 minutes. He also forced overtime with a buzzer-beating tip-in, earning praise from Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins.
“(There were) so many encouraging signs from the game the other night,” Jenkins said the following day on the ESPN broadcast during the Grizzlies’ Summer League game against the Philadelphia 76ers. “Obviously he has that tip-in. Just the fire that he plays with. … We’re going to try to expand his game a little bit more. I think he can be a threat on the inside in the post, bringing that back a little bit.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.