Zach Edey’s ethnicity — All you need to know about his parents

Standing at 7 feet 4 inches, Zach Edey is one of the tallest basketball players alive but one would be surprised to know that he never aspired to play professionally for the longest time. As a child, he mostly geared towards ice hockey and baseball until he outgrew them and tried his hands at basketball.

Edey, who was born to Julia and Glen Edey, may not come from a family of professional players but it is no secret that his parents were athletically inclined and were an influential part of his career choice. Even to this day, they attend his matches in homemade t-shirts that have his nickname ‘The Big Maple’ printed on them.

Zach Edey is biracial – He is of Chinese descent from his mother’s side

Zach Edey is native to Toronto, Canada, and is half white and half Asian. His mother Julia – who is taller than 6 foot herself – is Chinese Canadian and hails from a Chinese immigrant family who used to own a restaurant in the suburbs of Toronto.

Julia grew up with four siblings and used to help out her parents at the restaurant as a teenager. She studied nuclear engineering and went on to become a mechanical engineer. She is now retired and does gardening and beekeeping as a hobby.

Zach credits her for instilling the discipline of hard work in him, saying in an interview that she ‘knew all about hard work’.

“She knows all about working even when no one’s paying attention. My mom kind of grew up learning stuff on her own and she passed that on to me…I don’t like when stuff is easy. I like my stuff simple, to know what I’m supposed to do, but I like working hard for everything I get,” he explained.

On the other hand, Zach’s father Glen grew up playing baseball and used to be a baseball coach at a youth’s league. It was his interest in baseball that influenced Zach to take up the sport in middle school during his pre-basketball days.