Deni Avdija wasn’t supposed to last past the top five picks of Wednesday night’s NBA draft. But he didn’t seem to mind having to wait a little longer to make history for Israel.
The 6-foot-9 forward was taken by the Wizards with the ninth-overall pick in the draft, the highest ever for an Israeli, and he seemed thrilled with the result.
“I didn’t imagine that. It was crazy for me. Israel is such a small country that doesn’t [produce] as many NBA players as other countries, but for me just to represent my country and to make history, that’s a blessing,” he said over Zoom shortly after the pick. “I have the whole nation behind me. I hope I’m going to represent well. I never dreamed about this moment. I’m thinking it’s just still a dream.”
Avdija is just the second Israeli to be drafted in the first round, joining Omri Casspi, who went 23rd overall in 2009. Avdija has leaned on Casspi, his friend and former teammate with Maccabi Tel Aviv, to learn about what he should expect.
“We would talk a lot about the NBA, about his rookie year in specific, and I wanted to know what can I do best as a rookie and what skills are important to have,” Avdija said.
Traditionally, the NBA draft is an infomercial for Duke, Kansas and Kentucky. Wednesday night, it took a long time for a player from one of the three blue bloods to be selected. For the first time since 2000, none of the three had a lottery pick. Kentucky saw its streak of lottery picks snapped at 10 years. Duke didn’t have a first-round pick, the first time that has happened since 2008.
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The three did combine to have six players drafted and Kentucky produced two first-rounders: Tyrese Maxey (21st to the 76ers) and Immanuel Quickley (25th to the Knicks).
It was a big night for Nigeria. Five players with ties to the African country were picked in the first round, including lottery picks Isaac Okoro (fifth to the Cavaliers) and Onyeka Okongwu (sixth to the Hawks). Only two Nigerian natives had ever previously been drafted in the first round: Josh Okogie (2018) and Festus Ezeli (2012). In addition to Okongwu and Okoro, Precious Achiuwa, Udoka Azubuike and Zeke Nnaji were picked in the first round.