Deni Avdija is a finalist for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award.
The Portland Trail Blazers have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA this season. While they weren’t expected to be among the worst teams in the league, there also wasn’t much expectation that this team would end up as the No. 7 seed in the extremely difficult Western Conference. But that’s exactly where Portland is, and a big part of that success has been the contributions of Deni Avdija.
A first-time All-Star this season, Avdija has become the face of the franchise in Portland. And while it’s still unclear whether he can be the best player on a championship roster, he’s quite literally proven he can be the best player on a playoff roster in the tougher conference. That has now earned him a nod as a finalist for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award.
And when you look at his numbers, box score production and advanced metrics across the board, it makes perfect sense. He’s a much better player today than he was last season, and that’s saying something because he was already very good a year ago.
- Points per game: 16.9 → 24.2
- Assists per game: 3.9 → 6.7
- Plus-minus: -1.1 → +0.2
But when you see his scoring jump by nearly eight points per game, his assist output rise dramatically, his box plus-minus go from negative to positive and the way he’s shouldered a much larger burden this year as the offensive engine of an NBA team, the recognition feels well deserved.
So while he may not ultimately win the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award, the fact that he’s even in the conversation is meaningful on its own. For Avdija, it’s another layer of validation on top of a first-time All-Star season, and it’s a reminder of just how much work he’s put in to become the player he is today.