Lots of Blazers fans have been waiting for the franchise's star to emerge. I'll admit, I've been one of those people. Could it be Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan, even Scoot Henderson? Sure, it could be any of those guys. But while we've all been searching for the star, perhaps he's been right in front of us all along in the form of Deni Avdija.
Now, I'm not saying Blazers fans aren't appreciating Avdija's incredible play so far this year. But I do think most Blazers fans have presumed he will come back to Earth sometime, but... Are we sure that's going to happen?
We're almost a quarter of the way through the season and Avdija's scorching start has not subsided. He's still averaging 25.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game. Maybe he's just this good. In that case, the Blazers have already found their star — and what a development that would be.
Deni Avdija is acting like a franchise player
And is it so crazy to suggest that... Maybe this was predictable all along? If not predictable, at least plausible, right? Avdija has increased his points per game and assists per game in every season of his career thus far. I know that's a somewhat reductive way of viewing a player's development, but it was pretty clear by his final year in Washington that he was much more than a good complementary piece. Then, he got even better last season — his first in Portland — and we had to rethink his ceiling once more.
Basically, Avdija has continued to raise what the public believes his ceiling to be, and at this point, we probably shouldn't be surprised. Last year was his first as a top option in an offense, and he thrived. Now he has a real point guard beside him in Jrue Holiday, and that's helped him level up once more.
And if Shaedon, Toumani, or Donovan become stars in their own right? Even better! The more the merrier, obviously. But for the time being, Deni is playing like the star that Portland has been hunting for over the past few years.