The Washington Wizards are scheduled to tip-off their NBA season on Dec. 22. The season beginning is always an exciting time for
a team’s fans, but this year the Wizards’ first game’s importance has expanded to an entire religion.
On Nov. 18, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s star, Deni Avdija, was drafted by the Washington Wizards with the ninth overall pick. The ninth pick in the draft holds a lot of value but Avdija was still seen as a steal in spite of his high price.
“We were surprised to get him with the ninth overall pick because he was expected to go higher according to many sources. I did not expect him to be available at our pick and he’s considered by many draft experts to be one of the best steals of the draft,” said the voice of Washington Wizards radio, Dave Johnson.
Avdija’s claim to fame at the NBA level is his distinct ability to play all over the court. In addition to measuring in at 6 feet and 9 inches, Avdija is still considered an extremely elite shooter and ball-handler: something that only a few people in the world can claim to be true.
“If you’re going to survive in the NBA, you need to be good at a lot of things. It’s a borderless game and a positionless game where players are asked to perform multiple positions. Even though [Avdija’s] a 6-foot-9-inch player, who is, by definition, a small forward, he can play power forward and has point guard skills. We’re living in an age where 7-foot players shoot three-pointers,” said Johnson.
As the NBA continues to shift to being a positionless game, it’s also becoming a more international game. At the start of the 2019 season, the NBA announced that there were 108 international players representing 38 countries; this also marked the sixth consecutive year in which there were at least 100 international players.
“[Avdija] brings more publicity to Israel and points out that basketball players can come from anywhere, not just America,” said Tal Recht, a sophomore at Parkway Central and a member of United Hebrew.
With basketball spreading across the globe, NBA franchises are progressively becoming more apt to drafting players from overseas after seeing the stunning success of many foreign players like Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic, from Serbia, Greece and Slovenia respectively.
“Players from other countries are no longer looked upon with curiosity of if they’re going to be able to make it in the NBA. We have a long list of players from different countries, Dirk Nowitzki from Germany and Tony Parker from France, that have not only made it to the NBA but also have had exceptional careers. When you look at the list of players from Israel, it’s not as long of a list but since Israel’s a small country. It’s significant that [Avdija] was drafted as high as he was because it speaks to the tremendous passion for basketball in Israel,” said Johnson.
Even though some Israelis have made it to the NBA, none have achieved stardom, but, given his draft price, Avdija is poised to be the first.
“[If Avdija succeeds] I would very much enjoy it. Seeing someone from the same background as me would be really cool. I also think his success would put Israel on the map and bring more attention to the problems that are in Israel,” said Yoav Galer who was born in Israel and is now a junior at Parkway North and a member of Bais Abraham.
Even though Avdija had unparalleled success in Israel and was drafted highly, he is still a rookie and chances are he won’t immediately make an impact on the court. Partially due to his international background, many experts view him as a raw talent and project that won’t be successful right away.
“I think he’ll contribute. It’s a short list of players that come right in and dominate. It’s a big jump [to the NBA] and I think it’ll be a big jump for [Avdija] but, much like our ninth pick overall last year, Rui Hachimura, he will be a part of the rotation and grow. As he jokingly said, the easiest part will be the flight from Israel and after that will be a challenge. For all the success he’s had, he knows that the next step is going to be the biggest step,” said Johnson.
Despite the realistic pessimism that comes with most rookies, given his work ethic, Avdija’s expected to eventually become, at worst, a successful starter in the NBA.
“It’s impossible to predict who [will be great] but I have great expectations for him, knowing what he’s achieved and his skill set, even just talking to him, he has a tremendous maturity: it’s hard to believe he’s 19-years-old. You can’t predict who’s going to be a franchise player but I think he’ll have a long NBA career,” said Johnson.
Other than his athletic ability, another selling point of Avdija is his off the court character. In the lead-up to the draft, he became well-liked amongst NBA fans by crediting “Call of Duty” for helping him learn English but his work ethic is what grabbed NBA teams’ attention.
“[Hard work is] embedded in the religion itself. We have 613 Mitzvot and it teaches us how to treat people and I think that definitely has played a big role into how [Avdija’s] work ethic brought him to this point,” said Yoav.
With the rise of social media, basketball players have become much more than just athletes. As seen in the NBA’s strike in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, the great players, like LeBron James and Chris Paul, are the ones that double as activists off the court.
“I think he should speak out [about being Israeli and Jewish] because he’s been given this great platform to be an influencer. In his position, a wide range of people will hear and pay attention to his opinion on antisemitism and other things,” said Tal.
Whether or not Avdija turns into a cornerstone of the Wizards or a face of the NBA, the Jewish community will surely flock to every Wizards game to show their support for Avdija for years to come.
“You can feel the pride and love of the Jewish people that a member of their community has achieved such a high honor in terms of being drafted so highly in the world's best professional basketball league. I have no doubt that as we travel around the country we’re going to have Jewish groups celebrate with Avdija and hold Israeli flags at his games,” said Johnson.
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