Heading into the 2025-26 season, it was debatable who the Portland Trail Blazers' best player and go-to option was. It's now become clear that the Blazers are officially Deni Avdija's team.
Portland utilized him more as a point-forward down the stretch of last season, a role that not only carried over into this year but also expanded after Jrue Holiday went down with a calf strain in November.
Avdija is on track to earn his first-ever All-Star appearance. He's having a career year with impressive averages of 25.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game on 47/35/79 shooting splits. While he deserves a lot of individual credit for his breakout at age 24, as he's refined aspects of his game to reach this ceiling, the Blazers organization also deserves some recognition.
Deni Avdija is the face of the Blazers' franchise
They were the ones who identified Avdija's ceiling and bet on that potential in an aggressive trade with the Washington Wizards. Surrendering valuable draft capital as a rebuilding team is almost unheard of, and the Blazers certainly received criticism initially for that decision. But now in his second year in Portland, Avdija's ascension is making this trade lopsided in the Blazers favor.
Portland is putting him in an optimal position to succeed. There would inevitably be growing pains as a result of this increased and new role as a point forward. For instance, Avdija is leading the entire league in turnovers! But for Portland, that's just part of the process.
Avdija will be the first to tell you that he may force the issue too frequently or needs to pump the brakes and play with more change of speed. But it's a fine line as the Blazers don't want him to compromise what makes him an exceptional talent as he continues to evolve into a 6-foot-8 jumbo guard. It's that physicality and aggressiveness that make him a matchup nightmare. Eventually, Avdija will find a better balance between the two.
Portland has ranked in the bottom five in three-point shooting since he's come over, which hasn't made life easier on someone whose game is so dependent on getting downhill, either. Adding shooting will help decongest the paint and allow Deni to play more to his strengths, which include being an underrated playmaker.
This is only the early stages of Portland's experiment running the offense through Avdija, but the early returns have been incredibly promising. Once he figures out his turnover problem and they surround him with more complementary pieces, the Blazers -- known for their defense -- are going to surprise a lot of teams with their offense.
Trading for Avdija was one thing, but now they're starting to make him the focal point of their entire franchise. And because of that decision, things should only get better from here.