Things have been far from going in the right direction for the Grizzlies in their early-season slate, but they can hang their hat on their rookie wing being a real player for them. Cedric Coward became an intriguing prospect on various teams' draft boards during the 2025 NBA Draft, leading to the Grizzlies trading up to select him with the 11th overall pick of the draft.
He repaid them with an excellent start to the season, as he owned a 72.2 true shooting percentage through his first seven career games, which was the highest in NBA history for rookies with a minimum of 60 field goal attempts.