Zach Edey Wants Grizzlies to Turn Games Into a ‘Slugfest’

Zach Edey opened the second quarter with a tip dunk Friday night and caught an alley-oop from Ty Jerome with 3:44 left in the third.

The Memphis Grizzlies closed their exhibition schedule by beating the Charlotte Hornets 117-98 at FedExForum. It was Edey's third preseason game.

Memphis forced 24 turnovers, held Charlotte to 41% shooting, and outrebounded the Hornets 42-35.

Edey wants Memphis to turn games into a slugfest, he said in Grind City Media's postgame video.

"That's just how we want to win games," Edey said. "We want to out-compete people. We want to kind of make it dirty, make it like a slugfest, get those rebounds, control the paint, get more possession[s than] the other team. That's what we did today."

Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said after the game that Memphis held up against a strong rebounding team.

Each team had 11 offensive rebounds. Memphis had 31 defensive rebounds to Charlotte's 24, and the Hornets went 10-of-33 from 3-point range.

Edey jumped center against Ryan Kalkbrenner to start the game. He blocked a Naz Reid floater early in the second quarter, and his pass set up a Jerome 3-pointer with 29 seconds left in the half.

He also scored on a hook shot off a Cameron Boozer pass in the third quarter and made both free throws on a trip to the line with 8:47 left in that period.

Boozer said after the game that Edey is a big target who works hard on the glass.

Injuries limited Edey to 11 games in 2025-26. He averaged 13.6 points and 11.1 rebounds in those games and shot 63% from the field.

Over his first two seasons, he played 77 games. Memphis went 25-57 last season.

He sat out the preseason opener Oct. 5 and has started each game since. After he was cleared, he played 10 minutes against Orlando on Oct. 7 and finished with 2 points and 4 rebounds.

Before the Oct. 9 game in Chicago, Iisalo said Edey would play more than 10 minutes. He played 16.

Edey said it takes time for teammates to get used to playing with him.

"Every game," Edey explained. "Just building that chemistry with my teammates. I'm a unique player, so it takes some time for people to kind of get used to playing with me. And it's definitely been building every game."

Memphis took Edey ninth overall in 2024 out of Purdue. The 7-foot-3 center made the All-Rookie First Team in 2025, along with teammate Jaylen Wells.

Edey feels a little better every game.

"It's been good," Edey said. "I've been able to kind of make steps every game, kind of try to get back to playing 100% and being myself again. It's been a great preseason for me."

Boozer led Memphis with 19 points. Jerome scored 17, and Cedric Coward had 13. Rookie Hannes Steinbach had 19 points and 10 rebounds off the Charlotte bench.

The Utah Jazz come to FedExForum for the regular-season opener on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Tip-off is 7 p.m. CT.

Memphis leaves two days later for four road games in seven days.