Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant knows what it takes to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award. He thinks his new teammate, Zach Edey, is already the frontrunner to claim the honor in the 2024-25 season.

While working at a charitable event this week, Morant was asked about his recent workouts with Edey — the No. 9 pick by the Grizzlies in the 2024 NBA Draft. He spoke highly of the 7-foot-4 center out of Purdue.

“Definitely Rookie of the Year. I think easy, too,” Morant said in a video posted by Matt Infield of Action News 5. “It was definitely — I wouldn’t say a surprise for me, obviously, seeing how he dominated college. But coming into the workout, he came in and he was ready to work.

“Obviously, my summer workouts would be pretty much what I call boot camp. So for him coming in, saying he wants to work out with me and getting through the workout throughout the whole week, it was big time for him.”

Edey was dominant at the college level. A two-time National Player of the Year, he ended his career at Purdue as the program’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. During his senior season in West Lafayette, Edey averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per contest.

There have been some questions about how well Edey’s game would translate to the next level. Because he wasn’t given the green light to shoot away from the basket in Matt Painter’s offense, the concerns is that he wouldn’t be able to stretch the floor well.

Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. seemed to dispel those rumors in a recent appearance on the Chris Vernon Show on Grind City Media.

“I don’t even want to spill his stuff. I want him to do his own rollout of his own thing. You only get one rollout as a rookie,” Jackson said. “I can’t just be like, ‘Oh, he did this, this and this.”

Edey didn’t to get to play much during NBA Summer League, tweaking his ankle in multiple games and forcing Memphis to keep him on the bench as to not risk further injury. But now that Edey is back on the court, he’s earning a lot of respect from Morant — who was the league’s MVP in 2020.

“His skill set is even much better,” Morant said. “He’s 7-foot-4, but his touch — he was shooting the ball very well. Rookie of the Year is pretty much all I can say.”

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