With the NBA regular season around the corner and Tennessee sports betting in full force, it’s worth wondering which member of the 2024 rookie class will excel when they hit the court this season.
Between basketball royalty like Bronny James of the Los Angeles Lakers and college stars like Memphis Grizzlies’ big man Zach Edey, there’s no shortage of storylines to keep an eye on with this year’s class of first-year players.
To that end, oddsmakers at FanDuel Sportsbook Tennessee currently have Edey as their preseason favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award, with the 7’4 center out of Purdue listed at +400, ranking ahead of Reed Sheppard (+650), Alexandre Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher (+850 each).
Utilizing AhRefs’ search volume statistics of the average monthly searches, BetTennessee.com utilized a list of NBA rookies who are currently on a roster for this upcoming season to see who has been searched the most.
Most Discussed NBA Rookies, 2024
Rank | Player | Team | Average Monthly Searches |
1 | Bronny James | Los Angeles Lakers | 911K |
2 | Zach Edey | Memphis Grizzlies | 426K |
T-3 | Jared McCain | Philadelphia 76ers | 125K |
T-3 | Rob Dillingham | Minnesota Timberwolves | 125K |
5 | Kyle Filipowski | Utah Jazz | 118K |
6 | Dalton Knecht | Los Angeles Lakers | 116K |
7 | Reed Sheppard | Houston Rockets | 115K |
8 | Donovan Clingan | Portland Trail Blazers | 87K |
9 | Cam Spencer | Memphis Grizzlies | 57K |
10 | Armando Bacot | Memphis Grizzlies | 53K |
11 | Stephon Castle | San Antonio Spurs | 51K |
12 | Alex Sarr | Washington Wizards | 47K |
13 | Matas Buzelis | Chicago Bulls | 45K |
14 | Tyler Kolek | New York Knicks | 35K |
15 | Ryan Dunn | Phoenix Suns | 34K |
16 | Tristan Newton | Indiana Pacers | 32K |
17 | AJ Johnson | Milwaukee Bucks | 30K |
18 | Harrison Ingram | San Antonio Spurs | 28K |
19 | Isaiah Collier | Utah Jazz | 27K |
20 | Nikola Topic | Oklahoma City Thunder | 25K |
Where Grizzlies’ Zach Edey Ranks Among Most Discussed NBA Rookies
When broken down solely by search volume totals, Edey’s total of 426K ranks second leaguewide behind LeBron’s son, who managed to rack up 911K during the same period.
Rounding out the upper end of the NBA’s rookie class were Jared McCain of the Philadelphia 76ers and Rob Dillingham of the Minnesota Timberwolves, who finished with totals of 125K each, while Dalton Knecht of the Los Angeles Lakers was sixth overall at 87K.
Throw in a pair of fellow Grizzlies rookies in Cam Spencer (57K) and Armando Bacot (53K) and you have the full rundown of the top 10 this year, speaking to the Memphis-centric list of talented first-year players in the NBA this season.
As for the franchise itself, Tennessee sports betting apps like FanDuel Sportsbook currently list Memphis at -235 to return to the postseason after missing out for the first time since the 2019-20 season last year.
Author
Christopher Boan writes for BetTennessee.com and has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, with experience at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
