Zach Edey’s 2025-26 season will go down as a complete wash.
The Memphis Grizzlies announced the bad news on Tuesday night that their center Edey has undergone season-ending surgery on his left ankle to address ongoing discomfort and bone stress. Memphis’ release adds that Edey is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2026-27 NBA season.
Edey has a lengthy history of ankle sprains and missed the start of this season after undergoing surgery last June in order to re-stabilize his left ankle (which he had re-sprained during an offseason workout at the time). The former National College Player of the Year then returned in mid-November and played in 11 total games for Memphis, averaging 13.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game.
But Edey went out of the Grizzlies lineup again in December after being diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left ankle. He had not played for Memphis ever since then and has now been forced to undergo another surgery on that troublesome ankle.
It was obviously a longshot that Edey was going to play again this season. The Grizzlies stink right now at 23-37 (11th in the Western Conference) as they pivot into a full rebuild amid their trades of Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. in recent months as well as the continued injury woes of Ja Morant.
But the surgery news for Edey is a major concern, especially because of his size (7-foot-3 and 305 pounds). While Edey is still only 23 years old, his already-extensive injury history seems very troublesome for his career outlook (particularly given how ugly some of his ankle sprains in the past have looked).
