Unlikely big man picked to win NBA's Rookie of the Year in offseason survey

In the annual NBA offseason survey, an unlikely big man was picked to win the NBA's Rookie of the Year award.

The 2024 NBA Draft class did leave much to be desired, at least on paper. We have yet to see them play their first regular season games but this class did lack a headlining name and there was no unanimous generational player as there was last year with Victor Wembanyama. That doesn't mean the draft class won't end up being good but because of its uncertainty, it's going to be difficult to project it forward.

And it seems as if that's exactly what coaches, scouts, and executives ran into when filling out their annual pre-season NBA surveys.

In the NBA's offseason survey, it was Zach Edey who was selected to win the NBA's Rookie of the Year award this season. Edey was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, selected by the Memphis Grizzlies. Slotted to be the starting center for Memphis, I'm not sure how likely this prediction is to pan out.

Is Zach Edey a good prediction to win the NBA's Rookie of the Year award?

Even though it would make at least some sense for Edey to be a favorite to win the award considering there aren't many rookies that are going to start the season as starters, I'm not sure I can fully get on board with this selection. It makes sense for the Grizzlies to have the intention to start Edey but there's no guarantee he's going to make it out of training camp as the starter or if he'll be able to perfectly translate to the NBA speed and quickness.

It would be great if the Grizzlies hit on Edey but there's no guarantee that's going to happen. But, in fairness to this survey, if not Edey, who is one of the few rookies projected to start from day one, then who?

And that's a great question. But that also goes to show just how wide open this year's NBA Rookie of the Year award race is going to be. There are no early favorites to win the award and that could complicate things early on this season.

Of all the potential candidates, it makes sense as to why Edey was predicted to win the award. That said, I also don't believe it to be likely. But there's no question Edey in Memphis is certainly one rookie to keep a close eye on. He seems like a natural basketball fit next to Ja Morant.