Israeli NBA player Deni Avdija of the Portland Trail Blazers was a finalist for Player of the Month in the Western Conference for the month of December 2024. The distinction ultimately went to Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the month of December, Avdija scored 16.8 points (43.1% from three), with 5.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Despite Avdija's strong individual stats, Portland won only three games in December, finishing the month with a 3-9 record. Entering Thursday’s action, the Trail Blazers are just 11-21, which is 13th in the Western Conference. Avdija was in good company, as other finalists for the Player of the Month included some of the best players in the NBA: Avdija’s Portland teammate Shaedon Sharpe, Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks, Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, Norman Powell of the Los Angels Clippers, Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs. Avdija was selected ninth overall in the 2020 NBA draft by the Wizards and spent his first four NBA seasons in Washington before being traded to Portland before the start of the 2024-25 season. Last February, he recorded a new career high for an Israeli NBA player, scoring 43 points in a contest against the New Orleans Pelicans. The Israeli also matched a season high with 14 rebounds, and added three assists. The previous career high in a game for an Israeli player was 36 by Omri Casspi. Ahead of the start of the season, sports media company The Action Network named Avdija to the final spot on its “Elite 100” list, which ranks the 100 best players in the NBA. Related articles: Israeli NBA star earns second Player of the Month nomination Avdija records first Israeli NBA triple-double Israeli NBA star Deni Avdija won't play on Yom Kippur Israel's Deni Avdija makes list of top 100 NBA players Matt Moore, one of the authors of the Elite 100 list, noted that Avdija “was the only player with good impact stats for the Wizards”, who had a dismal season last year, finishing with a franchise worst 15–67 record. “He shot 65% at the rim (68th percentile) and 38% from 3-point range (65%). At 23, he might be entering a breakout. If he played for a team trying to win, he’d be a certified MIP candidate coming into the year,” added Moore.
