Cody Zeller was born into a family with a deep love for basketball. Growing up, he and his two brothers would spend hours playing indoor basketball games.
All of the Zeller brothers received the prestigious title of Indiana Mr. Basketball within three years period.
The eldest brother, Luke, received the honor in 2005, followed by Tyler in 2008 and Cody in 2011, marking a remarkable achievement for the Zeller family.
But Cody faced a challenge at a certain point in his career.
As both of his elder brothers had already made it to the NBA at some stage in their careers, he had to cope with the pressure to follow in his brothers’ footsteps.
Cody Zeller Brother: Luke & Tyler Zeller
Cody Zeller is the youngest member of the Zeller family and has two elder brothers, Luke and Tyler.
The age gap between him and his eldest brother is five years and two years younger than his middle brother.
All of the brothers grew up playing basketball and played in the NBA at certain stages of their careers.
Eldest Brother: Luke Zeller
Lucas Joseph Zeller (born: April 7, 1987) attended Washington High School and led his team to the Class 3A state crown.
The 2005 Indiana Mr. Basketball committed to play collegiate basketball for Notre Dame.
Over the four years at Notre Dame, he played in 128 games, starting in 32, and averaged 4.2 points per game.
Unfortunately, he went undrafted in the 2009 NBA draft and signed with the Shiga Lakestars of the Japanese bj-league.
Luke then played in the Lithuanian Basketball League before playing in the NBA G-League.
On September 28, 2012, he inked a one-year contract worth $473k with the Phoneix Suns.
The Indiana native made his NBA debut on November 4, 2012, against the Orlando Magic.
He only played in 16 games in the 2012-12 seasons and was eventually released by the Suns on February 21, 2013.
The former Suns player founded DistinXion, a non-profit organization that conducts basketball and cheerleading camps, in 2010 and has served as president since then.
Regarding his personal life, he married Hope Zeller in 2010, and the couple has one lovely son, Kyston.
Middle Brother: Tyler Zeller
Tyler Paul Zeller (born: January 17, 1990), the other elder brother of Cody, also attended Washington High School, where he played basketball and tennis.
He led the varsity basketball team to four sectional titles and state class 3A championships two times.
Additionally, Tyler also played on his high school tennis team. Due to his exceptional performance in basketball and tennis, he was named Indiana Mr. Basketball in 2008.
He then played collegiate basketball for the University of North Carolina. His No. 44 jersey was honored by the Tar Heels at the end of his senior year.
The Dallas Mavericks selected Tyler as the 17th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft but traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers the same day.
Tyler made his NBA debut on October 30, 2012, against the Washington Wizards, scoring 5 points.
He played for two seasons with the Cavaliers playing in 147 games and averaging 6.9 points per game.
The Cavaliers traded him to the Boston Celtics, where he played for three seasons before signing with the Brooklyn Nets.
He then had brief stints with the Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, and San Antonio Spurs.
Zeller Family Tree
Cody Allen Zeller was born to Lorri and Steve Zeller on October 5, 1992, in Washington, Indiana.
Steve Zeller graduated from Iowa State University with a B.S. in Animal Science.
Meanwhile, Lorri Eberhard Zeller played basketball and softball at Coe College Kohawks.
She led the Kohawks to Midwest Conference basketball championships twice in her sophomore and junior years.
Currently, Steve serves as the vice president of basketball at DistinXion, whereas Lorri serves as the Vice President of Administration.
Steve previously worked in the meat industry at Oscar Mayer, Louis Rich, Simmons Poultry, and Perdue Farms before DistinXion.
Cody’s uncle, Al Eberhard, also played in the NBA for four seasons with the Detroit Pistons after being drafted as the 15th overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft.
More on the personal life of Cody, he is engaged to Leanna Crawford, a musician, and songwriter.
