{"id":23500,"date":"2020-12-09T21:50:17","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T21:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/?p=23500"},"modified":"2024-11-03T09:31:20","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T09:31:20","slug":"deni-avdija-others-speak-on-his-early-adjustments-to-life-in-the-nba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/en\/deni-avdija-others-speak-on-his-early-adjustments-to-life-in-the-nba\/","title":{"rendered":"Deni Avdija, others, speak on his early adjustments to life in the NBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington – Sam Schwartz<\/a>, Sports Rabbi Correspondent<\/p>\n

With Israeli sensation Deni Avdija\u2019s preseason debut approaching, the rookie addressed the media today alongside head coach Scott Brooks, and sophomore forward Rui Hachimura.<\/p>\n

On what he has seen out of Avdija in five on five scrimmages, Brooks spoke specifically towards his shooting ability, \u201cHe\u2019s made shots every day he\u2019s practiced, it seems like he makes big shots as well. I think his shot\u2019s good, he’s just going to have to continue to work, it\u2019s a work in progress. His form, the mechanics, I think are pretty solid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following Brooks\u2019 session, Hachimura spoke to the media on his first impressions of Avdija\u2019s game, comparing his shooting ability to that of another foreign marksman on the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a good shooter you know, he\u2019s almost, like a typical European. Big, tall, shooter, almost like a DB (Davis Bertans). He has a good shooting ability, he\u2019s a good defender, he can move, he moves like a guard. He can do a lot of positions, he can kind of be point guard, he can play forward, he can be a shooter, he can do a lot of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lastly, the man himself was available for questions, and Avdija spoke on a variety of topics including his budding relationship with new teammate Russell Westbrook, as well as his early experiences attempting to transition to the speed of the NBA game.<\/p>\n

Questioned on how his early entry into the world of professional basketball has prepared him to succeed in Washington, Avdija had nothing but gratitude for the lessons learned from his teenage career playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came at the age of sixteen to play professionally and I experienced how it is to play with adults in Maccabi. You know everybody is older than you and they got different things to talk about, it wasn\u2019t easy in the beginning, they wouldn\u2019t help me. It made me tougher throughout the years, and I managed to face it and be better and really be a part of the team after three years. So after I faced that challenge, I think it\u2019s very hard to challenge me again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Avdija, discussing his early interactions with Westbrook, expressed appreciation in the veteran point guard’s willingness to help him improve his game.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe and Russ got really good together. I mean we have a great relationship, he\u2019s talking to me a lot, and I\u2019m always listening to him because he\u2019s been through a lot. Me and Russ are cool together, and hopefully, we can do great things this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

On his first impressions of 5 on 5 scrimmages, Avdija seemed to recognize that it would take some time to adjust to the speed of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s different, I\u2019m not going to lie, it is different. In the beginning, you know also when I was in Maccabi, my game was accelerating more, I was playing more fast, I was not calm as I am, as I used to be. It\u2019s all because it\u2019s new to me, when things are new to me and I feel like, you know first days I\u2019m not where a lot of players are on the team right now, it all seems so fast for me. But I believe when we start the season, we have these games, there\u2019s more games I\u2019m going to play, I\u2019m going to feel the game come slower to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked on how he has adjusted to American life, the young pro seemed strictly focused on maintaining a sense of normalcy through extended hours in the gym working on his game and conversing with fellow rookie teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou come to a new country and you need to find a house and a car and organize everything, and get to know everyone in motion. There are a lot of staff people. But all in all I\u2019m living the dream. I\u2019m happy to play basketball. I\u2019m in the arena from 9 am to 3 pm, but I get paid for it. It’s my job. I\u2019m good with everyone. I talk more to the rookies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former NBA star Amare Stoudemire worked with Avdija in Israel, and the rookie discussed what having an American veteran in his ear did for his development.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmar\u2019e was a big part of me and a big part of the game. The amount of experience and knowledge is off the roof. I always asked and he always answered. We became very good friends. Now I left Maccabi and now we can meet as a coach to player. It will be a bit weird but Amar\u2019e is Amar\u2019e. And it\u2019s always cool to see him.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a non-basketball related note, Avdija provided his thoughts on representing both Israel, as well as Jewish people around the globe as one of the few NBA representatives from each of the groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaccabi was a high-pressure team with a lot of fans so I have experience with fans. I love that Israel is behind me as well as the Jewish community around the world and in the USA. It pushes you to play good, work hard, so to me it\u2019s a blessing.<\/p>\n

The Wizards\u2019 preseason schedule begins on Brooklyn Sunday night, before hosting games next Thursday and Saturday against Detroit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington – Sam Schwartz, Sports Rabbi Correspondent With Israeli sensation Deni Avdija\u2019s preseason debut approaching, the rookie addressed the media today alongside head coach Scott Brooks, and sophomore forward Rui Hachimura. On what he has seen out of Avdija in five on five scrimmages, Brooks spoke specifically towards his shooting ability, \u201cHe\u2019s made shots every […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":23503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4074],"tags":[37,1872],"class_list":["post-23500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jews-in-sports","tag-deni-avdija","tag-washington-wizards","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nDeni Avdija, others, speak on his early adjustments to life in the NBA - Sports Rabbi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/en\/deni-avdija-others-speak-on-his-early-adjustments-to-life-in-the-nba\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Deni Avdija, others, speak on his early adjustments to life in the NBA - Sports Rabbi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Washington – Sam Schwartz, Sports Rabbi Correspondent With Israeli sensation Deni Avdija\u2019s preseason debut approaching, the rookie addressed the media today alongside head coach Scott Brooks, and sophomore forward Rui Hachimura. 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