Potential top-5 pick Avdija declares for NBA draft
Isreali wing Deni Avdija has declared for the NBA draft, he announced Thursday on ESPN's "Get Up."
Avdija spent the past season at Maccabi Tel Avi and is the fifth-ranked prospect on ESPN's top 100.
"First of all, the NBA is the best league in the world. There is a lot to learn over there and a lot of experience there," Avdija said. "It's going to be great to take my game to the next level."
Avdija showed up on the NBA radar after an MVP performance last summer at the FIBA U20 European Championship. He averaged 18.4 points, 8.3 boards, 5.3 assists, 2.4 blocks, and 2.1 steals en route to leading Israel to its second straight tournament title.
The 6-foot-9 forward is widely considered the top international prospect in this year's draft and some elements of his game have drawn comparisons to Dallas Mavericks wunderkind Luka Doncic.
Avdija runs the pick-and-roll effectively and has the versatility to slide into either guard position or the power forward slot.