This is franchise player stuff, at a time when the Memphis Grizzlies need someone to stand up as one.
With Ja Morant still out, and Jaren Jackson Jr. still finding his game, second-year center Zach Edey has come back from an extended absence with aggression. And in Memphis’ 131-128 overtime win in New Orleans, which kept its NBA Cup hopes alive, Edey was more impactful than ever, even after he wasn’t certain to play due to a prior head injury.
Edey had 21 points and 15 rebounds, soaring for slams and shoving bodies aside, but that wasn’t the statistic that stuck out most.
In a game that the Grizzlies won by only five, they were 39 points better than the Pelicans when Edey was on the court. That set an NBA record.
Zach Edey’s +39 is the best +/- mark by player in a game decided by 5 points or less in NBA history (regular season).
Via @StatsSAC pic.twitter.com/h3sPY2YxEI
— Playoff MEM (@PlayoffMem) November 27, 2025
The 7-foot-4 Edey did this against a Pelicans’ front line that includes Zion Williamson and impressive rookie Derik Queen, and the Grizzlies needed all of it. They were down late but rallied back. Jackson Jr. had a lot to do with that as well, finishing with a team-best 27 points. Another second-year player, Jaylen Wells, made nine of 11 shots and finished with 25 points.
And Vince Williams, filling in again for Morant, finished with 17 assists and was a plus-27.
The young players playing like is promising for the Grizzlies, who have won three of four games overall. After all their early struggles, they are now in the 10th spot in the West, which would secure a play-in tournament seed, in a Western Conference that is weaker than expected from the middle down. Whenever Morant returns from a calf injury, he will need to feed Edey the way Williams and others have, as the Grizzlies are clearly in transition.
Edey seems to be the key, though. He makes Memphis bigger, and different, than many of the teams they are facing.