{"id":602706,"date":"2026-04-14T04:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T04:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/602706\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T04:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T04:40:10","slug":"most-improved-player-contender-avdija-nears-israeli-playoff-history-the-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/602706\/","title":{"rendered":"Most Improved Player contender Avdija nears Israeli playoff history \u2013 The Forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"PORTLAND,<\/p>\n

PORTLAND, OREGON \u2013 APRIL 10: Deni Avdija averaged 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists in his All-Star sixth season. Photo by Soobum Im\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Louis<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBy Louis Keene<\/a><\/p>\n

April 13, 2026<\/p>\n

In any other year Deni Avdija, the NBA\u2019s reigning Israeli superstar and its most talented Jewish player in at least half a century, might be a shoo-in for the league\u2019s Most Improved Player award. The 6-foot-8 forward inflated his scoring average from 16.9 to 24.2 \u2014 good for 14th in the NBA \u2014 as he made his first All-Star team and guided the Portland Trail Blazers to their first winning season in five years.<\/p>\n

But in spite of his team\u2019s social media campaigning<\/a>, this year\u2019s award seems most likely headed to the Atlanta Hawks\u2019 Nickeil Alexander-Walker, whose 20 points-per-game more than doubled last year\u2019s average. Sportsbooks made Alexander-Walker an overwhelming favorite<\/a> to win, and while I would debate the merits \u2014 Avdija also raised his assist numbers, had a bigger role on his team and made a more difficult leap \u2014 I can\u2019t really argue the odds.<\/p>\n

Anyway, with the regular season over, Deni is onto more important things \u2014 starting Tuesday night, when his Blazers take on the Phoenix Suns in the biggest game of his career to date. The winner of Tuesday\u2019s Play-In (10 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime) advances to the one place Avdija\u2019s never been in his six seasons: the NBA Playoffs.<\/p>\n

At stake is more than just Avdija\u2019s drought of 425 games without a playoff appearance \u2014 the fifth longest streak of any active player. It\u2019s also the 10 years Israeli fans watched Avdija\u2019s Jewish countryman Omri Casspi play without seeing him in the postseason. Casspi\u2019s 588 games with seven different teams are the fourth-most without playing in the playoffs in NBA history<\/a> (and the most of any player born after 1950). An ignominious record, indeed.<\/p>\n

\"DeniWhen you\u2019re liking your chances (for the achievements that matter). Photo by Soobum Im<\/p>\n

As Jewish Telegraphic Agency has noted, Israeli-born journeyman TJ Leaf, who is not Jewish, made the playoffs as recently as 2021. And others have pointed out that Casspi\u2019s team made the playoffs in 2014, but he did not play. But Avdija himself seems to regard this as a possible breakthrough.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst taste of the playoffs \u2014\u00a0I think ever for an Israeli player,\u201d he said \u2014 last year, before the Blazers barely missed the Play-In.<\/p>\n

If the Blazers do end the Jewish Israeli playoff curse, it will be thanks to Avdija, who\u2019s answered every call for the franchise this season. In two critical late-season games against the Los Angeles Clippers \u2014 their rival for the 8th playoff seed \u2014\u00a0Avdija led all players in scoring both times, including 35 points April 10 as Portland grabbed hold of the 8-seed.<\/p>\n

Avdija\u2019s work will be difficult against Phoenix, which in Dillon Brooks employs one of the stingiest wing defenders in the Association. Avdija was one of the best in the league at drawing fouls \u2014 he was third in the NBA in free throw attempts \u2014\u00a0and the game may depend on how closely the referees officiate contact. As for prior experience, Avdija only played one full game against the Suns this year, scoring 19 points in a 17-point loss; Portland split the other two matchups.<\/p>\n

Because they secured the 8-seed, the Blazers will have a second chance at making the playoffs even if they lose. The winner of Wednesday night\u2019s Clippers-Golden State Warriors matchup will face the loser of Blazers-Suns. Two chances to win one, and make (Jewish) Israeli hoops history.<\/p>\n

Louis Keene is a reporter for the Forward. His work has also been published in The New York Times, New York magazine and Vice. He is based in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us. <\/p>\n

With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward \u2014 and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.<\/p>\n

The Forward doesn\u2019t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.<\/p>\n

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