It’s been a slow burn for Deni Avdija. But he’s finally starting to cook.
Heralded as arguably Israel’s greatest prospect when he got picked ninth in the 2020 NBA Draft, Avdija never really got his footing in his rookie year, averaging just 6.3 points and 4.9 rebounds on 41.7% shooting. But he showed flashes of brilliance—a nifty drive here and there, a booming trey once in a while, and even a dunk or two from time to time.
He made incremental improvements in his next two seasons, bumping his scoring up to 8.4 in 2021–22 and 9.2 in 2022–23 as he played more and shot the ball better. He then broke out last season, putting up career-bests in points (14.7), rebounds (6.4), and assists (3.8) on 50.6% shooting overall.
But as is the question with many young players, did Avdija just put up good numbers for a laughably bad team or is he actually any good?
The answer is looking more and more like the latter. The 6-foot-9 Israeli has emerged as one of the Portland Trail Blazers’ best players and is a big reason why they still have an outside chance of making the playoffs via play-in.
In his first 54 games for the Blazers this season, Avdija has averaged 14.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steal, and 0.5 block. This numbers are very similar to his production last year but do not show improvements in Avdija’s decision-making, aggressiveness, and overall floor game.
To be clear, Avdija isn’t a star yet—let alone a superstar. But he’s showing he can be one and is headed in that direction.
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