As part of Michael Lewis' book "The Undoing Project," Lewis spoke to longtime NBA general manager Daryl Morey about his draft philosophy. Morey revealed that he forbade all intraracial comparisons from his scouts because "the mere fact that a player physically resembled some currently successful player could be misleading."
“We’ve said, ‘If you want to compare this player to another player, you can only do it if they are a different race,'" Morey elaborated.
Morey's rule is rarely followed in sports media. The white player to white player comparisons can lead to some not-so-great results. In Edey's case, the Purdue big man is often compared to Hall-of-Famer Yao Ming.
Ima tell my kids this was DJ Burns vs Zach Edey in the #FinalFour pic.twitter.com/ghfvWJQDCI
— Aaron Burgin (@FullTimeHoops1) March 31, 2024
With all due respect to some world-class draft evaluators that have made that comp, there are some big differences between those two players.
Yao made the Hall of Fame thanks to a silky-smooth midrange jumper, extremely high skill level in the post, elite defense and excellent passing. Many of those strengths are weaknesses in Edey's game. Both players are very tall, great post players and of Chinese descent (Edey's mother is Chinese Canadian). That's about all they share in common.
We can do better than the Yao comp, particularly if we use Morey's rule of using non-Asian players.
Here are three NBA veterans who share more in common with Edey's game.
MOCK DRAFT: Predicting where Zach Edey and other March Madness stars will go
Zach Edey is the next young Brook Lopez
Lopez was an All-Star in the 2012-13 season, playing the role of bruising big man with sweet post moves. He was a big-time scorer for the Nets over the first nine years of his career, averaging 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Lopez is known today as a great stretch big man. That wasn't always the case. He didn't make his first 3 until his seventh year in the league. The game was changing around him so he completely reinvented himself as a 3-point shooter. He's remained one of the better starting centers in the league into his mid-30s as a result.
Edey has that same post dominance that Lopez did. They both leverage their massive size well. And like a young Lopez, Edey does not stretch out from 3. But while Lopez always had some semblance of a midrange shot, Edey rarely shoots from outside.
Lopez also totally changed his defensive reputation. Once known as a liability due to his poor lateral footspeed, he found the perfect mix of players and system in Milwaukee that could allow him to stay near the rim. That led to a runner-up finish in the Defensive Player of the Year award last season.
Edey faces those same defensive criticisms. He does not move well laterally and he's a very slow player when running back in transition, but when he plays near the basket, he is a very effective shot-blocking threat.
Lopez has shown how Edey could turn those shooting and defensive weaknesses into real strengths. Lopez is certainly an outlier (not even his twin brother Robin pulled off the same transformation), but it is possible with the right coaching staff and fit.
MORE: Why Zach Edey is the most polarizing player in 2024 NBA Draft
Zach Edey is the next Al Jefferson
Edey has put in work to improve his left hand, even opening Purdue's Elite Eight win over Tennessee with a lefty hook. It's still not where it needs to be, though.
Edey showed as much in a rare misstep during that 40-point masterpiece, bricking a lefty shot in the second half.
How much will that one-handedness matter at the next level? There have been a handful of players who have succeeded despite never developing a weak hand. Zion Williamson much prefers driving left. Boris Diaw has claimed that he never scored once with his left hand over his 14 years in the league.
Al Jefferson is the closest thing to Edey in terms of his playing style and how right-hand dominant he is. The 6-10, 280-pound big man used his size to dominate the post, making an All-NBA team in 2013-14. Every scouting report led with the fact that he never shot left-handed. Big Al still managed to average 15.7 points per game for his career.
Jefferson declined rapidly as the game around him changed. He didn't have a great jump shot and he didn't move well on defense. He was a dominant big man back in the late 2000s, but his game would not age well today.
MORE: Height, wingspan, hand size, foot size for Zach Edey
Zach Edey is the next Boban Marjanovic
Boban is the biggest player currently in the NBA, measured at 7-4 and 290 pounds. That is pretty close to Edey's 7-4, 300-pound frame.
When Boban has seen the floor, he's been extremely productive. He's averaged 22.8 points and 14.8 rebounds per 36 minutes for his career. That per 36 minutes is a very relevant caveat — he's only been able to play 8.7 minutes per game over his nine years in the league.
Boban hasn't been able to stay on the floor because of his defensive limitations. As much as he contributes on the offensive end, he gives up more on defense.
“It’s tough, because you’re dealing with a lot of guys who can really stretch the floor, and you’ve got to be able to defend out to 25 feet,” Boban's Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy told Chris Herring for FiveThirtyEight back in 2018.
Edey faces the same conundrum. His size is going to make him a dominant scorer and rebounder once he enters the league, but scouts are torn on whether he can guard out to the 3-point line.
Edey does not look comfortable when positioned high up the floor. When he does get switched onto guards, he will often give them too much space for fear of allowing a blowby.
NBA guards will be able to easily hit 3s over these cushions:
There are some areas where the Edey-Boban comparison breaks down. Edey is a more talented post scorer with great footwork on up-and-unders along with a sweet righty hook. He's also a little more mobile. Most importantly, he's far from a finished product.
Comps are fun for a quick ballpark of how a college player will project to the next level, but they are only so useful. First, no two players are alike. Second, NBA players change a lot throughout their careers.
There is only going to be one Zach Edey. He's already proven that he's a fantastic college player. Who knows what he will look like 10 years from now?
