As Portland battles a reinforced Western Conference, the versatile forward’s relentless upward trajectory and potential All-NBA evolution remain the primary catalyst for a deep postseason breakthrough.
The year-over-year leap and steady development of Deni Avdija in the NBA, especially since getting to the Portland Trail Blazers, has been wildly impressive.
Last season, Avdija was the Blazers’ best and most important player, especially on offense. He carried a significant load as a scorer while also facilitating for others despite being the size of a forward. He had the ball in his hands quite a bit and was playing at an All-Star level for much of the season.
While the expectation is that he’ll be just as good this season, we shouldn’t rule out another leap. Development is never linear, but in Avdija’s case, he’s gotten better every single season, and significantly so. These haven’t been marginal improvements. He’s made impressive statistical jumps year after year in the league.
If the Blazers are really going to reach their ceiling this season, they’ll need a few players to really pop. Ja Morant and Donovan Mitchell are both names who could take this team to an entirely different level if they’re playing at a high level this season.
But Avdija is still the team’s best player and one of the leaders of this group, which makes what he looks like physically during training camp and the preseason particularly interesting.
Still just 25 years old, it’s not out of the question that Avdija has another significant leap in him this season. Given the trajectory he’s been on throughout his career, another jump could have him knocking on the door of All-NBA territory while helping Portland take another major step forward.
To be clear, though, it’ll take more than just Avdija taking another leap. Portland will need collective improvement across the roster because the Western Conference is only going to get better.
The Houston Rockets should get important pieces back healthy this season. The Los Angeles Lakers have retooled. The Denver Nuggets have a new look. The Utah Jazz are positioned to take a significant step forward. If the Golden State Warriors can stay healthier, they’re still a playoff-caliber team, while the Phoenix Suns have added more talent than they had a season ago.
The broader point is that nearly every team expected to be in the playoff hunt has invested in improving its roster this offseason. Portland won’t be able to rely on Avdija alone to keep pace.
It’ll take Avdija and the rest of his teammates being completely dialed in and continuing to improve throughout the year. That means showing the incremental gains they made during the offseason, but also continuing to iterate as the season unfolds. For the Blazers to reach their ceiling, they need their key players to be better in May than they were in October.
