{"id":541633,"date":"2026-01-17T00:02:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T00:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/541633\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T00:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T00:02:13","slug":"grizzlies-cedric-coward-kept-it-real-when-asked-about-the-rookie-wall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/541633\/","title":{"rendered":"Grizzlies’ Cedric Coward kept it real when asked about the rookie wall"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> nearly at the halfway point of the 2025-26 season, forward Cedric Coward isn’t worried about hitting the so-called “rookie wall” this year.<\/p>\n

Coward is averaging 14 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists while shooting 34.3% from 3-point range in 37 appearances with the Grizzlies. He is fifth among all first-year players in scoring and is tied for second in double-doubles (6).<\/p>\n

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The 11th pick tallied 17 points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in his latest outing on Thursday in a loss to the Orlando Magic<\/a> in Berlin, Germany. Afterward, Coward was asked if he was potentially worried about slowing down on the court.<\/p>\n

“I only fear God,” Coward said, via Marta Kiszko on X. “The rookie wall is one of those things where if it comes, it comes; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I just try to take it one game at a time, one practice at a time. Just try to keep my consistent routine. People always tell me: ‘The greatest players are the ones that are consistently good.’ For me, it is just trying to be as consistent as possible and learn from my mistakes.”<\/p>\n

Coward has started the past 24 games for the Grizzlies, emerging as a key player on both ends of the court. He has already showcased his versatility and poise at a high level, enabling him to deliver productive outings for the group on a nightly basis.<\/p>\n

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The 22-year-old recently became only the fifth rookie in franchise history to record at least 25 points and 15 rebounds in a game, joining the likes of Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. He is one of three rookies with at least 15 rebounds in a game this season.<\/p>\n

Coward has fit in well with the Grizzlies through the first half of the season and has earned the trust of his teammates and coaches. He has stepped up amid a chaotic year and is looking to bring consistent production over the rest of the year.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Grizzlies news: Cedric Coward kept it real about the rookie wall<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the Memphis Grizzlies nearly at the halfway point of the 2025-26 season, forward Cedric Coward isn’t worried…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":541634,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,3522,74481,74480,177,6,76,181],"class_list":{"0":"post-541633","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cedric-coward","10":"tag-halfway-point","11":"tag-marta-kiszko","12":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-orlando-magic","15":"tag-the-grizzlies"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115907510404233276","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/541634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}