The 2024 NBA Draft will run from Wednesday, June 26 through Thursday, June 27. While international athletes have dominated the top draft picks for the last several years, familiar names like Purdue’s Zach Edey are also in the running in the two-round draft. Edey, who spent four years as a Boilermaker, is projected to be a mid-first round draft pick.
Zach Edey Draft Profile
Edey stands at 7-4, a height that saw him tower over nearly every collegiate opponent for the last four years. He was an award magnet, as well, earning NCAA Player of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year awards and AP First-Team All-American honors in both 2023 and 2024. He led the NCAA in scoring in 2024 with 25.2 points per game. He added 12.2 rebounds per game last season, a slight decrease from his 12.9 per game in his junior year.
Strengths
One of the major benefits of Edey staying in college for four years was that he learned how to use his size. He was an unstoppable force in his senior year — a big improvement from previous years in which he appeared more awkward and less sure of his physical presence on the court. He is an excellent rebounder, and is generally able to use his size to avoid foul trouble down low. Edey also is able to position himself to be a reliable feeder option and puts the ball away easily when he can get it above opposing defenders’ hands.
Weaknesses
You can see it when he takes off down the court — his long limbs tend to slow him down. He doesn’t accelerate down the floor on a fast break, and he certainly won’t be chasing down breakaway blocks anytime soon. His perimeter defense also needs some improvement — he is very comfortable near the rim, but his defensive weaknesses get exposed as opponents pull him out.
Player comparison: Jonas Valanciunas
Several analysts have compared Edey to the Clippers’ Valanciunas. Others have drawn links to Boban Marjanovic. Edey’s size places him into a unique defensive category, and he is able to use his height to grab some easy points and make himself into a wall between opposing scorers and the basket.