(Ep097) Ed Davis: Working out with Ben Wallace, What NIL & Mixtapes Mean for Young Players, and Why You Can’t Cheat the Grind
Growing up with a dad (Terry) who played 10 seasons in the NBA, you might expect that Ed Davis was pushed from the time he could hold a basketball. But his father let Ed’s love of the game develop naturally before training him on the court, at the track, and in the weight room when he was a teenager. Ed also benefited from a mom who let him put basketball first, pickup games with the likes of Ben Wallace at Virginia Union, and the discipline and timekeeping he learned at a private military school.
All these things helped Ed become a top-10 high school prospect and McDonald’s High School All-American. His decision to play for Roy Williams at UNC was vindicated when the team won the national championship his freshman year. After his sophomore season, Ed declared for the 2010 NBA Draft and was picked 13th by the Toronto Raptors. In his 12-year career he also played for the Grizzlies, Lakers, Jazz, Nets, and Cavaliers, and led the league in offensive rebounding rate one season.
In this episode, Ed dishes on:
Why he chose to fight for playing time at North Carolina over starting at other schools
How breaking his wrist against Duke changed his pre-draft process
Why the Transfer Portal, NIL, and mixtapes have changed high school and college basketball
How guidance from Reggie Evans and DeMar DeRozan helped him navigate his rookie year
Who was his worst coach in the NBA and how this contrasted with the leadership of Quin Snyder and Roy Williams
Keep up with Ed on Twitter @eddavisXVII.
