Report: Purdue center Zach Edey declines 2024 NBA draft invitation to celebrate with teammates, coaches and family
ESPN NBA draft analyst Jonathan Givony reported that Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey has decided to turn down the invitation to the 2024 NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, which will take place on June 26 and 27. Instead, he has opted to celebrate the event with his teammates, coaches and family at Purdue.
Edey was one of 21 prospects invited to be in the green room at Barclays Center for the big event, but he has chosen to watch the draft in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Givony tweeted:
“Purdue center Zach Edey was being invited to attend the NBA Draft, a source told ESPN, but has elected to decline and watch the draft with his teammates, coaches and family at Purdue instead.”
Edey, a two-time National Player of the Year, Purdue's leading scorer of all time and the leader of a national runner-up team, is 7 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 299 pounds.
As a four-year Purdue center and a member of Canada’s national team, he could be positioned well for selection high in the draft.
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Zach Edey reflects on his NBA draft combine
In Edey’s final season at Purdue, the 2024 Big Ten Player of the Year had a remarkable campaign, averaging 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, leading his team to the NCAA Tournament title game.
Furthermore, he became the first player in over 50 years to be unanimously named Player of the Year in consecutive seasons and the sixth player in history – as well as the first since 1990 – to finish with at least 2,516 points and 1,321 rebounds in his college career.
Reflecting on his skills at the draft combine in Chicago, Edey emphasized that he believes in his quickness (via Sun Sentinel):
“Obviously I need to show people I can shoot the way I believe I can,” Edey said last month. “But I think for the most part I know what I’m good at.
“Like if teams have tons of film on me, obviously I think I’m quicker than teams think I am, I think I can shoot better than teams think I can,” he said. “I have to show that. I’ve been in college for four years. They’ve got a lot of film on me. They kind of know what I can do.”
Reports have suggested that Zach Edey is likely to be a first-round pick in the draft, with the Oklahoma City Thunder picking at No. 12 considered a potential best fit for him in the league.
Also Read: 2024 NBA Draft: 4 things that make Purdue's Zach Edey a college hoops anomaly
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