Israel Basketball Opens New Chapter With Avdija’s NBA Debut

(FILES) In this file photo taken on December 13, 2020, Deni Avdija (L) of the Wizards dribbles against Kyrie Irving (C) of the Nets during the first half at the Barclays Center on December 13, 2020 at the Brooklyn district of New York City. – Israel’s first great achievement in international basketball was the 1977 Maccabi Tel Aviv European Championship, an event so important that then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin delayed his resignation announcement until the final match was over. That could change starting Thursday, when 19-year-old Deni Avdija is scheduled to begin his NBA career with the Washington Wizards. The small forward was the ninth overall pick in the November draft, the highest rank for an Israeli-born player. (Photo by Sarah STIER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

Israel’s first major achievement in international basketball was the 1977 Maccabi Tel Aviv European Championship, an event so important that then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin delayed his resignation announcement until the final match was over.

The popularity of basketball in the Jewish state has grown enormously over the next several decades, but Israel has yet to produce a local star to stand out in the world’s top league, the NBA.

That could change starting this week, with 19-year-old Deni Avdija beginning his NBA career with the Washington Wizards.

The 6-foot-9 small forward was chosen ninth in the November draft, the highest spot for an Israeli-born player.

Avdija, born in the kibbutz of Beit Zera in northern Israel, will not be the first Israeli-born player in the NBA.

That was Omri Casspi, who debuted with the Sacramento Kings in 2009 and had a median career, averaging 7.9 points per game over 10 seasons.

But many basketball experts believe Avdija offers Israel’s first legitimate shot at NBA stardom.

Former NBA coach and executive Brad Greenberg, who now heads Israel’s Nes Ziona club, described Avdija as “one of the best players in his age group outside of the US, which these days means that you are on par with the best players even in the US. “

Greenberg, who selected legendary point guard Allen Iverson as general manager for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996, told AFP that Avdija “has the potential to play at a very high level.”

‘Special’

“Deni is special,” said Oded Kattash, one of Israel’s most accomplished players who now leads Israel’s Premier League’s Hapoel Jerusalem.

“It wouldn’t have mattered if he grew up in Serbia, Croatia, Germany, the United States or Israel – he would make it,” added Kattash, who was on his way to being Israel’s first NBA player until a 1998-99 lockdown derailed his chance with the New York Knicks.

But Kattash stressed that Avdija’s rise is, at least in part, attributable to improvements in Israel’s talent development system.

“Five and six years ago, people said that young Israeli players are spoiled and lazy,” Kattash told AFP.

“Things are much better now … A lot of clubs are putting more money and attention in the youth department.”

‘All changed’

For Israeli filmmaker Dani Menkin, who made a documentary about the 1977 Maccabi Tel Aviv championship, there is a clear connection between that unlikely title and Avdija.

“That victory in 1977 changed absolutely everything,” said Menkin, whose 2016 film “On the Map” argued that the Maccabi Tel Aviv championship revitalized a young nation still reeling from the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

While Maccabi beat Italian club Mobilgirgi Varese in the final, the semi-final victory over CSKA Moscow was even more profound, as Israel surprised a geopolitical rival who had supported their Arab rivals in the war.

Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky, who moved to Israel in 1986, recalled in the film that he considered taunting his KGB captors after Maccabi’s victory.

Menkin told AFP that Maccabi’s development into a major international club after 1977 brought a new generation of Israelis to basketball.

The key change, he said, is that in the 1970s, Maccabi was dominated by imported players from the United States.

“Now we are exporting players to the NBA. It’s fantastic, ”he said.

Whats Next?

As with any young NBA talent, Avdija’s career trajectory is difficult to predict.

He was in the top five when Washington began its season Wednesday, playing 28 minutes and scoring seven points in a 113-107 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

It is also unclear whether more young Israelis are prepared to go down the Avdija path.

Yam Madar was selected 47th overall, but the Boston Celtics in the 2020 draft, but his NBA prospects are less promising.

Kattash expressed confidence that more young Israelis will start basketball if Avdija is successful in the NBA.

“We saw the influence Yao Ming had on Chinese basketball,” he said, recalling the Shanghai-born seven-footer who starred in the Houston Rockets and ignited a wave of passion for basketball in China.

“I really see a bright future for Israeli basketball,” Kattash said.

“We will never be the tallest, we will never be the strongest, but here we have good basketball talents.”

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