NBA

Original Article Published On The JNS

Deni Avdija, the 22-year-old small forward selected with the 9th pick in the 2020 NBA draft, continues to improve.

Deni Avdija, an Israeli-born small forward who plays for the National Basketball Association’s Washington Wizards, was not even born the last time the Wizards defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the latter team’s home arena on Dec. 11, 1999.

The 22-year-old played a major role in the Wizards’ 127-106 victory on Monday in San Antonio. Avdija, the 9th-overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, scored a career-high 25 points on 10-for-12 shooting. He also pulled down nine rebounds, to go with an assist, a block and a steal. Eight of his 10 field goals came in the paint, and he shot 3-for-4 from the foul line and 2-for-2 from three-point range.

Avdija combined persistence, precision and deft maneuvering over and around defenders. His complete performance employed traditional layups, finger rolls, floaters and dunks, as he aggressively pursued the basket.

Wes Unseld Jr., the Wizards’ head coach, has liked what he has seen of late from the Israeli hoopster.

“His level of aggression has paid dividends. He is getting to the rim, finishing at a much better clip and going to the free throw line,” he said. “It is allowing him to get some easy points at times. He is figuring it out.”

Monday’s contest marked Avdija’s fourth 20-plus point game in his career, and his second 20-plus point game this season. He has logged at least 10 points and five rebounds in four consecutive games—tied for the longest such streak of his career.

The Wizards, now owners of a season-best six-game winning streak (including five in a row on the road), are achieving a degree of success they have not experienced since Feb. 10 to March 9, 2018.

“The wins have been good for our psyche,” the coach said. “It has given us confidence.”

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Original Article Published on The JNS

For Deni Avdija and the Washington Wizards, there is no place like home. The Israeli forward and his team recently completed their longest homestand of the season with a 5-1 record. Avdija’s performance has been on the upswing, and his coach and the media are noticing.

On Nov. 10, when the then 6-6 Wizards defeated the 6-5 Dallas Mavericks, Avdija had 12 points, four assists and six rebounds in 32 minutes of action. Two nights later, when the Wizards defeated the 10-4 Utah Jazz, he notched a season-high 13 points along with seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block in 34 minutes of action.

The following evening, with the Wizards defeating the 9-5 Memphis Grizzlies, Avdija tied a career-high with 21 points, including 15 in the first half—the second time in his career with 15 or more points in a single half.

Avdija’s hot streak continued in a Nov. 16 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He grabbed seven rebounds, blocked two shots and notched 12 points, scoring in double figures for his fourth consecutive game. His scoring slowed down a bit in the Wizards’ Nov. 18 overtime win against the Miami Heat, when he hit one three-pointer and had one rebound and three assists in only 14 minutes of play.

In the Wizards’ Nov. 20 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, Avdija registered his sixth career double-double with 12 points and season-high 13 rebounds.

Following the game against the Hornets, reporters asked Coach Wes Unseld about Avdija’s impressive rebounding in recent weeks. “I love the fact that he is cleaning up the boards and we need more of it.  He’s got positional size.” Unseld is pleased that Avdija can help his teammates pull down rebounds. “It can’t be just be on KP (Kristaps Porzingas) and Gaff (Daniel Gafford). It has to be by committee and he did that tonight.”

Avdija echoed, “I always like rebounding the ball, as part of my game. I was extra aggressive tonight on the rebounds. We had an emphasis on the rebounds pregame because they are a good offensive rebounding team. I was just on the glass, trying to grab them.”

Other reporters noted that Avdija had more opportunities to bring the ball up the court, with guard Monte Morris out with a sore right ankle. “I get comfortable every time I get those assignments—even being a point guard sometimes, crossing the court and making plays for others.  I love doing that, if that’s what coach needed me to do on the court. I am capable of doing that.”

Avdija has always prided himself on his hard work and fighting spirit. He feels motivated to continue to work hard to enter the starting lineup, and does not get frustrated if he needs to serve time in the second unit.  “I feel like if I have challenges throughout the season and have to go to the second unit and battle my way back, that is fine. In the end of the day, I am going to play my role and try to master my role. Whatever I’m doing, whatever unit I’m on, second unit or first unit, I’m just going to go out there and play hard.”

On the other hand, Avdija has been frustrated with questionable fouls called against him. “I don’t know why sometimes I get this treatment. I’m just frustrated because I’m guarding the best guys on the opposite team and if I get really easy fouls and it gets me out of the game, in general, it is frustrating. I will try to get better and foul less…as I get older and [earn] more respect in this league, hopefully it will get better. Sometimes it is frustrating. I’m not going to lie.”

Yet Avdija keeps perspective and remains positive. “I am glad I am having those challenges. The grind makes me tougher mentally and makes me believe in myself more. So I’m taking it in a good way.”

Avdija continues working to improve his game. “I am trying to dunk more and trying to be more aggressive…I set a goal for number of dunks in a season so I think I’m at a pretty good spot with it. And it makes me miss fewer layups.” When asked how many dunks he planned for the season, he admits, “I don’t remember what number but I wrote it down at the start of season as a goal.”

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“He is the pride of the Jewish people. We always come out to support Deni,” says Matisyahu Zamir, a student at the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach.

Original Article Published in the JNS

The Zamir family came to Madison Square Garden from Woodmere, N.Y., hoping to see their beloved Deni Avdija and the Washington Wizards play against the New York Knicks. Elad Levi and his son came all the way from Tel Aviv — part of a 24-person tour group hoping to see their fellow countryman Avdija, the only Israeli in the NBA, play in several games.

Yet their luck was running out after the Washington Wizards’ game against the Brooklyn Nets on Dec. 21 was postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak within the Nets’ roster. They came with their signs and Israeli flags and jerseys, and prayed the Wizards’ Dec. 23 game versus the Knicks would go on.

Four hours before tipoff, Wizards star Bradley Beal entered the league’s health and safety protocols. It is unclear whether he had received a positive test result or whether it was a matter of contract tracing. He joined fellow starter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who was already in the protocols.

Ultimately, the Zamir and Levi families fished got their wish. But just barely. Avdija scored in double digits for the fourth game in a row, with 14 points, as well as five rebounds and a career-high three blocks. It was his fifth multi-block game this season. The Wizards defeated the Knicks, 124-117.

“I like that [Avdija] is a really good shooter and his defense is pretty amazing too,” reports Matisyahu Zamir, a student at the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach in Woodmere. “He is the pride of the Jewish people. We always come out to support Deni.”

The Zamirs, all clad in custom-made red number 9 Avdija jerseys, enjoyed their view from the first row, close to center court. Like other Jewish and Israeli fans, they enjoy following 20-year-old Avdija’s continued growth in his second year in the NBA. Very few fans saw Avdija play in person last season.  He made his first appearance at the Knicks’ home of Madison Square Garden on March 23, 2021, and scored 14 points before fouling out in a Wizards loss. Due to COVID-19 rules at the time, the arena was at 10% capacity. One month later, on April 21, 2021, Avdija suffered a season-ending right fibular hairline fracture, followed by a long period of rehabilitation.

This season, Avdija is thriving on and off the court, though he could do without the day-to-day uncertainty of the pandemic. “To be in question is a bummer,” he says. “It is not fun, but we have to keep being safe. We have to just keep working ourselves.”

Avdija worked hard to return this season and he feels it is paying off. “I see progress every day and hope I will maximize my potential until I retire,” he says. “I learn new things every day and get better every day as I become a more complete player.” For instance, Avdija describes that he is “more mature” and “knows what spots to shoot from,” and is learning to “trust my shot and not think too much.”

Wizards Head Coach Wes Unseld Jr. likes what he sees and has been giving Avdija more playing time. “He has progressed well,” he says. “We are putting him in different situations. I am learning to trust him more. His teammates are learning to trust him more. He is stepping up and making big plays —facilitating, scoring, and we have seen the defensive side of it. So, I think he is starting to put together a nice run here. If he can play this way night in and night out, this is going to be great for us.”

Unseld also admires Avdija’s energy and attitude. “His energy is always good. He is a very positive guy, doing things for his teammates,” he says.

Despite the many precautions in place due to COVID-19, Advija has had some opportunities to get to know the local Washington, D.C., Jewish community — and he enjoys speaking with Israeli media. Avdija recently lit Hanukkah candles, signed autographs and answered questions from fans at the Rockville Town Center in Montgomery County, Md., 20 miles north of the team’s Capital One Arena.

When asked what was his best moment of the year, Advija enthusiastically reports that it was being back in Israel for the first time and seeing friends, family and all of the support he has been receiving.

And Avdija’s New Year’s resolution? “That by the end of 2022 I will be better than I was at the end of 2021. That’s all I’m asking for. Just to be a better person, learn more, know more, and be a better player and to be healthy. That’s really important.”

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Original Article published on The JNS

The 20-year-old scored four points, had three rebounds and one assist in only 16 minutes of play. Nevertheless, the Wizards lost to the Knicks 117-99.

Deni Avdija, the only Israeli player in the NBA, returned to action on Saturday night after a longer than expected recovery and rehabilitation from an ankle injury earlier this year. The Washington Wizards faced the New York Knicks in a preseason game; it was the second preseason game for the Wizards but the first for Avdija. He scored four points, had three rebounds and one assist in only 16 minutes of play. Nevertheless, the Wizards lost to the Knicks 117-99.

Despite the loss, Avdija, 20, was happy to be back in action, saying “it feels good to be back. It is a good first step to get it going, to get two baskets, to get in the rhythm.”

He made a layup on a fast break from teammate Raul Neto and made a second basket after a pass from team star Bradley Beal. “You need to start with something,” he said. “It felt good.”

Wizards Coach Wes Unseld was generally pleased with Avdija’s performance, though he pointed out some areas in need of improvement. “For the most part, he was good,” he said. “He had some missed assignments. And using his voice will be a constant theme for him. We have to prod him a little bit to do it.”

In the Oct. 9 game, Unseld worked to have Avdija play continuous minutes. “It was Deni’s first crack at it. We wanted to make sure he had extended runs and didn’t want to chop up his minutes too much.” Unseld has reported throughout the pre-season that Avdija is ready to play but wants to ease him in slowly. He will continue to monitor his minutes.

While Avdija is pleased with how hard he worked on his rehabilitation and conditioning, and how much his coaches and trainers have invested in him, he acknowledged that it has been difficult being away from the game—since April 21, when he got hurt—for so long. “I missed basketball. I missed being on the court. I don’t take anything for granted. I enjoy every moment of being with teammates, coaches and fans. Hopefully, we’re going to have fun this season.”

Avdija noted that he enjoyed playing in Washington in front of actual spectators. “The atmosphere changed; we have some fans now,” he said. “I can see people in the stands. Those things felt good.”

He also feels more relaxed not being a new player. “I wasn’t as ‘shocked’ as in my first year. Some players I came up against last year, it wasn’t easy. In the second year, you know where you are—you know the arena, you’ve seen all the teams and all the defenses in the league. I feel more experienced—mature, stronger and better.”

Yet there are challenges ahead as he eases back this season. Avdija is aware of what he needs to do to get ready for the 82-game regular season, which runs from October to April.

“The first thing I wanted to experience was the pace of the game. I have to get used to the pace and physicality and playing defense, and having energy running up and down and going through plays. I’m not going to lie—it wasn’t easy for me,” he acknowledged. “It’s not easy coming in after six months. My body needs to adjust.”

But, he said, “I’m getting there. It is a good first step for me.”

The Wizards have two more preseason games before starting their regular season on the road against the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 20.

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