(JTA) â Expect plenty of bleary eyes around Israel on Thursday as favorite son Deni Avdija makes his NBA debut for the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
The game against the Philadelphia 76ers featuring the 19-year-old Israeli, the Wizardsâ top pick in last monthâs NBA Draft, will be televised and/or streamed in his native land at 2 a.m. Thursday.
âI think a lot of people are going to watch my first NBA game,â Avdija told reporters Monday on a Zoom call. âThe whole nation is behind me.â
While the 6-9 forward isnât the first Israeli to play in the NBA, and heâs not the first to be drafted in the first round, heâs certainly the most heralded player from his country to go to the worldâs best basketball league.
Spartans in the Pros: Former Michigan State players still hooping across globe despite COVID-19
Updated Dec 22, 2020;
Posted Dec 22, 2020
Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges plays against the Toronto Raptors during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game in Charlotte, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)AP
Facebook Share
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted sports around the world, with leagues paused and schedules upended.
But it hasn’t stopped a host of former Michigan State players from finding ways to still suit up on the hardcourt.
The pandemic appears to have thinned out the ranks of former Michigan State players playing in overseas leagues compared to recent years, but at least eight former Spartans are still suiting up somewhere overseas.
NEWCOMERS: Russell Westbrook, Raul Neto and Cassius Winston
All eyes will be on the Wizards’ brand-new backcourt as the team opens the 2020-21 season this week against Philadelphia. After acquiring Russell Westbrook via trade earlier this month, the Wizards now boast one of the best guard duos in the NBA. Westbrook, a former MVP and nine-time All-NBA point guard, will run alongside Bradley Beal, who is coming off the best season of his career in which he averaged 30.5 points and 6.1 assists per game.
Together, they will create headaches for opposing defenses on a nightly basis and open plenty of opportunities for surrounding teammates. In the time that they share the court, they are eager to take some burden off the other’s shoulders.
Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images
Sure, most of the attention goes to Russell Westbrook making his Wizards debut. But serious basketball people know the truth: this was the Thomas Bryant revenge game.
In the previous preseason game, Detroit Pistons cheap-shot artist Blake Griffin flung Bryant to the ground in a pointless and gratuitously violent foul. Bryant lost composure and went after Griffin, and was so mad he pushed a ref away and got slapped with a $45,000 fine. Along the way, Griffin teammate Mason Plumlee called Bryant a name (easily discernible to lip readers) and then Griffin and Plumlee giggled to each other secure in their toughness and the wall of players and refs between them and Bryant.
Michigan State’s quest for fourth straight Big Ten title starts vs. Northwestern
Updated Dec 20, 2020;
Posted Dec 20, 2020
Michigan State guard Joshua Langford yells as he is introduced before before their college basketball game against Eastern Michigan at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, on Wednesday, November 25, 2020. Michigan State won the game, 83-67. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com
Facebook Share
EAST LANSING – Michigan State might not hear that heckling from opposing Big Ten fans ths season like it would in a normal year, as the conference plays in empty arenas due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But as the conference’s three-time defending champions, the Spartans still know they’re a team that draws the most attention and will have a target on their back – even if this year’s squad looks different than the ones that hung the last three banners.