The Portland Trail Blazers have already given Deni Avdija what the Washington Wizards never would. That much was quickly established during his breakout season in 2024-25, but Portland took its efforts to another level during the 2025 offseason.
By trading Deandre Ayton and Anfernee Simons, the Trail Blazers have guarantee that Avdija will play a featured role without having to defer to high-volume veteran scorers.
Avdija was selected at No. 9 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, seemingly positioned to become a key contributor for the Wizards. He struggled to find his footing through his first three seasons, however, due in no small part to the rosters around him consistently featuring relatively ball-dominant players.
Avdija turned a corner in 2023-24, which was uncoincidentally his first season as a full-time starter, but Washington remained true to character and traded him shortly thereafter.
In his first season with the Trail Blazers, Avdija set career-best averages in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and three-point field goals made per game. Perhaps more importantly, he posted new highs in field goal attempts, three-point field goal attempts, and free throws attempts per contest, as well as usage rate.
Following Avdija's massive step forward into the all-around threat many have known he could be, Portland cleared the path and surrounded him with the type of talent that can permit his growth.
Trail Blazers have gifted Deni Avdija a stable role entering training camp
Avdija's debut season with the Trail Blazers can essentially be divided into two parts: Before and after Christmas. Prior to the holiday, Avdija was averaging 12.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.4 three-point field goals made on .434/.359/.785 shooting.
Those numbers skyrocketed to 19.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.9 three-point field goals made on .496/.369/.777 shooting after Christmas.
In addition to thriving individually, Avdija directly impacted winning in a rather profound way. That much is evident in the simple fact that Portland went 9-20 when Avdija played before Christmas and 24-19 when he was active after it passed.
For perspective on what changed, the Trail Blazers' game on Dec. 26 marked the first time in 10 outings and just the eighth time in 30 appearances during which Avdija played at least 30 minutes.
That began a clear shift in the hierarchy that Portland had established coming into the season. Prior to Christmas, Avdija was sixth on the Trail Blazers in field goal attempts per game, with the trio of Ayton, Jerami Grant, and Simons making up three of the top four along with Shaedon Sharpe.
After Christmas, Avdija moved up to third in field goal attempts, trailing only Simons and Sharpe—the former of whom was traded this summer for Jrue Holiday.
Holiday is a phenomenal player in his own right, but he's far less of a score-first talent than Simons. The two-time NBA champion averaged just 9.2 shots per game in 2024-25 and should have no issue with helping Avdija take on a bigger role offensively.
It's taken five full seasons to get here, but the Trail Blazers have ensured that Avdija will finally enter training camp as a featured player on the offensive end of the floor.