Once upon a time, Israelis used to travel in droves to Barcelona to see the world’s greatest soccer player in Leo Messi. Today, Israelis journey halfway across the world to see one of our own ply his trade in the National Basketball Association for the Washington Wizards.
Deni Avdija has taken the NBA by storm in his fourth season as the Israeli sensation has started to fulfill his enormous potential to become the player we all knew he could be – a star among stars.
The 23-year-old Sabra has begun to make his mark on the same floor as the likes of the game’s greats including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Steph Curry and LeBon James. Avdija is scoring consistently this season – he has raised his overall averages across the board – and has taken huge steps in understanding how the game is played in North America and also how he can convert his talent and take his play to the next level.
In Avdija’s first three seasons with the Wizards, he was primarily used in varying situations behind superstars such as Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal and was given very few chances to lead the play, act as the ball handler or be the first, second, third or even fourth option on offense.
In season four, this has all changed with the departure of many of the team’s top veterans as well as injuries suffered by players such as Kyle Kuzma. Avdija plays point forward for many minutes of the game and can play that same position as James does very, very well. The Israeli’s court vision is dynamic while his passing ability in traffic has become second to none.
But where Avdija has really blossomed is his ability to go to the basket with both his right and left hands, absorb contact from the other team and still score and get fouled like the savvy veterans all do.
“Deni has been great,” said the Wizards’ interim head coach, Brian Keefe. “His growth has been tremendous. We put the ball in his hands to make plays, the rebounding has been great so we keep pushing Deni to do more. We think he can keep growing and he has been growing over the last few months and we push him to do that.”
Avdija is a fearless leader and he showed all of that and more when the Jerusalem Post was in attendance this week for the Wizards’ stunning 117-113 victory over one of the NBA’s elite clubs in the Milwaukee Bucks.
Washington has had a very tough season, to say the least, with a record of 14-61 heading into this week’s set of home games against the Bucks and Lakers. Both of those teams are in the playoff race and have superstars in Antetokounmpo and James along with plenty of other complimentary stars, such as Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton and Anthony Davis.
The Wizards have very little of that firepower and to make things even more challenging they are playing with a very short roster due to injuries.
With that in mind, Avdija once again had the chance to take center stage as he has done over the past number of months and that is exactly what he did, something that Bucks coach Doc Rivers was well aware of.
“Deni is playing well,” Rivers said. “He does a lot of stuff, it’s tough to evaluate a guy on the record, but his improvement is obvious over the last couple years and that is what you have to do.”
With the opportunity to play the second seeded team in the Eastern Conference, Avdija knew full well that the Bucks, and specifically Antetokounmpo, would be a large task but yet one that could really be a statement win for a team that has had very few if any this campaign.
With hundreds of Israelis who made the pilgrimage to DC flying the blue-and-white flag, Avdija took the bull by the horns from the get-go and began to work his magic inside the paint while finding his open teammates for baskets aplenty.
While Avdija’s 3-point shot was off all night, with him going 0-for-5, sharpshooter Corey Kispert’s was not and Avdija found the third-year guard time and again from beyond the arc as Washington took a surprising 58-54 lead into halftime.
“I have seen Deni grow for three seasons now,” Kispert said of Avdija. “The way he is able to make the correct play over and over again is another thing he has added to his toolbox. He has been an offensive catalyst. He has the ball in his hands a lot and we trust him a lot. Tonight he made the right plays a lot of times, so it’s a lot of fun to watch him grow and become a more complete player over the three years I have been playing with him.”
Avdija's spectacular victory
To make sure that the Wizards’ lead was no fluke, Avdija opened the second half with a thundering poster dunk on Antetokounmpo to set the tone for what would be a thrilling final 24 minutes of basketball.
While Antetokounmpo recorded a triple-double by the end of the third quarter, his impact was not felt throughout the opening three frames as his teammates’ abysmal shooting continued unabashed. As the final frame began, it was clear that the dynamics pitted the Israeli and the Greek in one more duel to see who would come out on top. Perhaps this story had shades of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, where the Maccabees defeated the Greeks then as they were about to now.
As the time ticked off the clock it was clear that Avdija wanted this win badly as he kept the Wizards ahead. But as time ticked down and the Bucks shaved the advantage to just a pair of points with under 10 seconds to go, Avdija came up with the big play to save the game.
Under immense pressure on the inbound after a Middleton deuce, Avdija launched a full-court pass on the dime all the way to Anthony Gill to bump the lead up to four points and preserve the victory in stunning fashion.Watching Avdija mature before our collective eyes was something special to behold as he was interviewed on court after the game having earned Co-MVP honors with Kispert.
“This was definitely one of our best wins this season,” the Israeli sensation said. “We competed knowing that it does not matter what seed the Bucks are, does not matter the players, everybody took the challenge today and competed. You saw the defense on Giannis, it was collective, honestly a brilliant game from start to finish. We were strong offensively and I have no words to describe this win.
“Nobody believed we would win, but we did. I know and the team knows how much we work and how many losses we have suffered during the season, and when you see that fantastic win that we had, you see people coming around excelling in things on the court, I am happy for the group because it shows we can do good stuff.”
As Avdija waved to the crowd, the Israelis in attendance moved down as close to him as possible as the blue-and-white flags flew with pride, placing a huge smile on the man who had just scored 23 points and secured the win.
“This is what it is all about, this is the beauty of sports, the crowd, we are happy to perform for people who support us even when we are out of the playoffs. But they show us support regardless . Honestly, I am thankful for them to keep coming and cheer us even though we are not competitive yet this season, I am just calling for more fans to come and support us. The fans and the team need it.”
Avdija especially appreciates the fans from the Holy Land.
“The support of Am Yisrael is amazing, especially in a period like this when people come and have a positive experience, it is something I am blessed I can provide. I invite everyone to come. It is fun for me that you are here and it is fun for me to be cheered on. And yes, I am happy.”