When discussing the history of Jewish people in the NBA, there are usually very few. The two names heard most frequently are usually Jordan Farmar, a very good backup point guard for the Lakers during the 2009-10 Championship era, and Omri Casspi who was an amazing 3-point shooter who never got too much time on the court to prove his worth.
This year could be an amazing change in the world of Jews in the NBA. I am of course talking about Deni Avdija. Avdija is an Israeli-Serbian professional basketball player currently playing for the Maccabi Tel Aviv team.
This year, Avdija averaged an impressive 12.3 points per game to go along with 5.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
You might be wondering “Why is some guy on the Maccabi team that is scoring 12 points per game such an important player?” That is because Avdija is a projected top 10 pick in the NBA draft.
Backstory
Deni Avdija was born on January 3, 2001. His father, Zufer Avdija was a former Maccabi basketball player as well. Avdija actually was very focused on soccer until about fourth grade.
At this point Avdija became very interested in the sport that his father was so good at. In his early years, Avdija was embarrassing his competition in rec leagues. So much so that In 2013, he joined the young group within Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Avdija was an absolute stand out, and ended up joining the professional team as a 17 year old, the youngest to ever join. His first season was not a very productive one as he saw most of the game on the bench. His next year however, he finally got a chance to see the court as he averaged 14 minutes per game off the bench.
Avdija averaged 4 points per game along with 2.6 rebounds per game. As an 18 year old, Avdija still had plenty of time to develop, and that is exactly what he did this year.
He is averaging 8 more points and 3.3 more rebounds then his rookie season.
Possible Landing Spots
Let’s take a look at all possible landing spots for Avdija within the top 5 projected picks.
- Warriors
Anyone who gets drafted by the Warriors will be blessed with a chance to instantly compete for an NBA Championship. Avdija would get a chance to play hefty minutes off the bench behind Andrew Wiggins; there are not too many other people on the Warriors roster that seem ready to compete at a level like Avdija.
Avdija could play the true playmaker he is, and playing around Steph Curry and Klay Thompson is tremendous in helping the assists column.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
Besides the Warriors, this is my favorite fit for Avdija. I have never seen the Cavs forward, Cedi Osman, as a good enough player to be a starter in this league. I believe if you stick Avdija into the starting lineup alongside Sexton, Garland, Love, and Drummond, that is instantly a playoff contending team.
The Small forward position is understandably a major role in Cleveland as Lebron James, one of the greatest players of all time, owned it for several years.
3. Atlanta Hawks
This would be another team we could possibly see Avdija fight for a starting spot. The hawks right now are set with their point guard in Trae Young, power forward in John Collins, and Center in Clint Capela. I believe that Avdija has a chance to start over Hunter if he is able to show more upside in training camp as Hunter did not have the most impressive first season after being drafted number 4.
4. Minnesota Timberwolves
This would be a very fun team to watch Avdija play with. A starting lineup of D’angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Deni Avdija, Juan Hernangomez, and Karl Anthony Towns would be a very young, talented roster that could surprise some teams in the west.
5. New York Knicks
Please do not let our one Jewish player go to the knicks. It seems like no matter who they draft, no matter who they sign, they are left at the bottom of the record board every year. This would be a great place for Avdija to shine, but there would be no time table for his first playoff appearance.
In the Jewish community, this kid is going to have the pressure of the world on his back. It is important to give him his time, and let him develop. We are all behind him, and I can’t wait to have a Jewish player countless young athletes can look up to.
Works Cited: “Deni Avdija.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Apr. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deni_Avdija.
He’s father is Muslim !!
Stop saying he’s only Jewish you are what your father is !!
no you are not. you are what your mother is in the Jewish faith
The truth is, your religion is never passed down from your parents. Your ethnicity is. In this case he is of Jewish and a Serbian. But his beliefs in God or a lack thereof are not well known yet. He may just be an atheist and neither a follower of Judaism or Islam.
Isn’t he Muslim ?
You forget players like Dolph Shayes, Rudy Larusso, Ernie Gruenfeld, Neal Walk and others who were first rd picks and had good NBA careers.
Barry Kramer and Art Heyman were first rd picks also but didn’t have great careers.