The Grizzlies made a big move — literally — in the NBA Draft on Wednesday, selecting Purdue's Zach Edey with the No. 9 overall pick.

The 7-foot-4, 300-pound Edey could immediately slot in as a key player in Memphis' frontcourt rotation. The Grizzlies traded Steven Adams ahead of last season's trade deadline and needed a replacement to play alongside Jaren Jackson Jr.

Edey will be in the mix there. He's well-known to basketball fans from his time in college, where he dominated the Big Ten and led the Boilermakers to the national title game in 2024.

Here are five things to know about Memphis' newest player.

Zach Edey is tall — really tall

Edey will be tied for the tallest current player in the NBA with San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama and Houston's Boban Marjonovic.

But his success in college doesn't just come down to that. Edey generated an otherworldly gravitational pull in the post, using improved footwork to score consistently and find teammates for open shots when opposing teams decided to bring double teams. He'll obviously still have a height advantage in the NBA, but he'll have to take his game to another level against more physical players.

Zach Edey is from Toronto ... and didn't start out as a basketball player

Edey wasn't a highly touted recruit out of high school, and that's partly because he wasn't even a basketball player until he was in 10th grade.

Before that he played hockey as a defenseman, but once he picked up a basketball he quickly decided to pursue it. He moved to IMG Academy in Florida before committing to Purdue.

Zach Edey was a historically good college basketball player

Edey was a two-time winner of the Wooden Award, given to the best player in college basketball. That put him in elite company with only one other player: Virginia legend Ralph Sampson.

He became an elite player during his junior season in 2022-23. He averaged 22.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game that season, helping the Boilermakers to the No. 1 overall seed before losing to Fairleigh Dickinson in a stunning first-round upset.

But Edey returned for his senior season and averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. He dominated college basketball on both ends, raising his draft stock in the process.

Zach Edey spoke highly of Memphis during the pre-draft process

Edey said at the NBA Draft combine that he planned to meet with the Grizzlies.

He also talked about how he saw his game translating to the NBA level, comparing himself to former Grizzlies centers Valančiūnas and Adams.

"I'm never going to be the wiry, 7-foot guy like Kevin Durant. That's never going to be me," Edey said. "I'm a 7-foot-4, 300-pound guy. I'm built to be in the paint, to carve out space, to protect my area. And that's what I'm going to keep doing. I think there's a lot of people in the NBA that do stuff like that. (Pelicans center Jonas) Valančiūnas, (Clippers center Ivica) Zubac, Steven Adams, guys who have had a lot of success in the NBA being presences. I'm going to stick to who I am."

Zach Edey could play for Canada in Olympics

Edey will likely make his Grizzlies debut during NBA Summer League, which starts July 12 in Las Vegas.

But he'll be in action later in the summer, too. Edey is a member of the Canadian national team and was named to their preliminary roster ahead of the Olympics. If he makes the team, he could see playing time alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Andrew Wiggins and Jamal Murray.

The Olympics kick off on July 26.

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Five things to know about 2024 Memphis Grizzlies draft pick Zach Edey