Deni Avdija began his post-game press conference joking, “I look like I celebrated all last night because I feel like I looked tired as hell on the court. I didn’t feel that good today.” No, Avdija did not ring in his 21st birthday partying at a club the night before a game, but he did struggle shooting the ball as he started the game 0-for-6 from the field against the Charlotte Hornets. The Wizards would go on to defeat their division rival to keep the season tiebreak alive, 124-121, and Avdija contributed to the victory in multiple under the radar ways.

Kyle Kuzma scored a season-high 36 points including 4-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter alone to help bring Washington back from a double-digit deficit in the second half. Avdija joked after that he is partially responsible for Kuzma’s recent hot streak. Since a December 22nd practice where Avdija and Kuzma were seen playing 1-on-1, the latter has averaged 23.7 points on 51.4% shooting and 10.5 rebounds over six games. Much of that has to do with Kuzma’s increased aggression with multiple rotation players out due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, but it is a stark difference from the 12.6 points on 41.6% shooting and 7.8 rebounds he was averaging in 29 games before we learned he was playing 1-on-1 with Avdija.

“Since he started playing me 1-on-1, he also plays better 1-on-1 [in games],” Avdija slipped into his response about Kuzma with a big grin on his face. “He didn’t shout out or mention, but it’s a big part I can tell you that.”

With respect to Avdija’s personal performance against Charlotte, seven points on 1-for-7 shooting with three turnovers does not look impressive at all, but a closer look at his contributions warrant praise. The now 21-year old recorded a career-high eight assists and four steals in his 40 minutes of play as a starter where his primary defensive assignment was fellow 2019 draftee LaMelo Ball who had 18 points but on 8-for-21 shooting. Avdija was re-inserted into the starting lineup for just the fourth time this season partly to take some pressure off Bradley Beal who is pressed into a point guard role with Spencer Dinwiddie sidelined. It was easy to see the ball moving and if the NBA counted hockey assists, Avdija may have broken double-digits in the dimes department.

“It wasn’t just to guard LaMelo [Ball], it was also to give us another ball-handler on the floor,” Wes Unseld Jr. said about the decision to insert Avdija into the starting lineup. “I was comfortable with what he was doing. At times it’s not always going to be pretty because we’re asking him to run the point and he’s not really familiar with a lot of what we do at that position, but trying to keep it simple and minimize the mistakes. I give him a lot of credit. He tried to do the right thing and late he stepped up.”

Wizards with sweet ball movement for a Kyle Kuzma 3 pic.twitter.com/yzVujF9ggZ

— Hoop District (@Hoop_District) January 4, 2022

The strong work ethic and diligence that we know to be a hallmark of Avdija is clearly better than the alternative of apathy, but it can also be a double-edged sword when it causes the Israeli to lose confidence. Anyone who has played basketball at any level knows when you miss your first six shots, it is easy to get discouraged. Luckily for Avdija, he has teammates who have been in these same situations guiding him through it. Playing a small part in the storybook ending for Washington in their comeback win, Avdija knocked down his final shot attempt of the game, a 3-pointer, with the home team down four with four minutes to play.

“I see a lot of my younger self in him,” Kuzma shared. “Somebody that is talented, but overthinks a lot and can kind of get in their own way in being in their own head. I just try to get on him all game. It was like 6:44 [left] in the fourth and he was like ‘I’m getting cooked’ and I’m like. ‘what do you mean getting cooked?’ ‘Best part of it is you got 6 minutes to turn it around’ [Kuzma told Avdija]. My favorite thing about him is he’s really receptive to criticism and I’m just here to help him out. Once he gets his brain right, everything comes together, it’s going to be dope. It’s gonna be really dope to see because he can do a lot of different things on the court and he’s extremely talented.”

Kyle Kuzma on his mentorship of Deni Avdija

"I see a lot of my younger self in him. Somebody that is talented, but overthinks a lot. … Once he gets his brain right, everything comes together, it’s going to be dope … because he can do a lot of different things on the court." pic.twitter.com/xCi4O7k7RI

— Hoop District (@Hoop_District) January 4, 2022

Even without making a field goal for the first 90 percent of the game, Avdija was able to impact the game in other ways, which is what earned him the right to finish the game despite shooting struggles. To steal Kyle Kuzma’s adjective, it will be dope to watch Avdija continue to develop.

“What I love is he continues to play hard regardless if he’s making or missing shots and I think that’s definitely a stepping stone for us in the right direction,” Beal commended Avdija. “Not allowing how we play on offense to affect our defense and affect other parts of the game. Deni is one of our best defenders. He still stayed engaged, he still was able to make big plays, big stops down the stretch, get some rebounds. He’s a constant learner. Every game is going to be different for him. We’re asking him to play point [guard], asking him to play make, asking him to play the 4, asking him to set screens, we’re asking him to do a lot. We’re throwing a lot at him and he’s done an excellent job of handling it.”