Cedric Coward Named Among Summer's Stock Risers by NBC Sports
· Yahoo Sports
Memphis Grizzlies wing Cedric Coward opened Raphielle Johnson's list of summer stock risers for NBC Sports on Tuesday morning.
With Ja Morant and Santi Aldama gone, Coward should be one of the team's leaders, Johnson wrote.
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Johnson wrote that Coward and Cameron Boozer had already built chemistry in Las Vegas.
Coward ranked outside the top 100 in fantasy basketball last season. That floor should be higher in 2026-27, Johnson wrote.
In 62 games he averaged 13.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.5 3-pointers. Coward made 47 starts and played 25.8 minutes a night. He shot 47.1% from the field, 33.8% from 3-point range, and 84.3% from the free throw line. Among qualified rookies he ranked sixth in scoring and fourth in rebounding. He was fifth in field goal percentage and second in free throw percentage. He tied for fourth with 7 double-doubles.
On Dec. 30 against Philadelphia, Coward set career highs with 28 points and 16 rebounds in 37 minutes. He scored in double figures 49 times. Eight of those games reached 20 points.
Coward finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting and drew one third-place vote. Cooper Flagg won the award. The Memphis Grizzlies wing made the All-Rookie First Team with Flagg, Dylan Harper, Kon Knueppel, and VJ Edgecombe. He also finished fourth in Hustle Award voting. Charlotte's Moussa Diabaté won it.
A shoulder injury ended Coward's final college season at Washington State and kept him out of Summer League a year ago. This time he played eight games, two in Salt Lake City and six in Las Vegas.
Over the Vegas games Coward averaged 19.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. He shot 43.4% from the field and 41.7% from 3-point range. That earned him a spot on the All-Summer League Second Team. Boozer made the First Team.
Memphis went 4-2 in Las Vegas.
In Saturday's semifinal against Houston, Coward scored 28 points, his highest total of the summer. He went 9-of-19 from the field and added 6 rebounds and 5 assists. The Grizzlies won 101-90. Golden State beat them 94-90 in the championship game the next night, with Coward finishing at 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The Grizzlies traded Morant to Portland on June 29 for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. ESPN's Shams Charania first reported the deal. Memphis had already sent Desmond Bane to Orlando in 2025 and Jaren Jackson Jr. to Utah during last season.
On draft night the Grizzlies took Boozer third overall. They acquired Isaiah Stewart from Detroit for three second-round picks. They used the 21st pick on Karim López of the New Zealand Breakers.
Portland drafted Coward 11th overall in 2025 and traded him to Memphis that night.
Johnson's column also listed Walker Kessler, Kon Knueppel, Egor Dëmin, Naz Reid, and Paul Reed among the returnees.