Deni Avdija was knocked out of Wednesday's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Washington Wizards after LeBron James elbowed him in the side of his head. While Avdija doesn't think James intentionally elbowed him, he is upset that the Lakers superstar did not check on him afterward.
"I don’t think he did it on purpose," Avdija said. "... I at least expected like if I get hit in the face or I hit somebody in the face, I expect to go and check on him. I felt like he didn’t do it. So, that got me a little bit pissed off. At the end of the day, it’s sports. I’m going to get hit, I don’t care, even if I get concussed. Part of it is just being a person and coming and asking, ‘How are you feeling?’. It just shows good sportsmanship and I felt like he didn’t do it, which is okay. It’s fine. I got over it."
Here is the clip of LeBron elbowing Avdija in the second quarter of that contest, in case you missed it.
I think it is understandable for Avdija to be a bit upset here. That was a nasty shot that he took and LeBron would have known that he did connect with his elbow, whether he actually meant to do it or not. Checking up on him after the play would have been the right thing to do, but for whatever reason, the 20-time All-Star didn't think it was needed.
James was assessed a flagrant one for elbowing Avdija, who would miss the rest of the game with a migraine. He exited with just 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal to his name. LeBron, meanwhile, would finish with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals, as the Lakers won 130-125.
Avdija revealed during this press conference that there was no damage done to his brain by the blow and that was really good to know. He was cleared by the doctors and did not end up missing any games due to this either, as he returned to the lineup against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
Deni Avdija Has Been One Of The Bright Spots For The Wizards In 2023-24
For a few years, it seemed like the Wizards had made yet another mistake in the draft after selecting Avdija with the ninth pick in 2020. He didn't have much of an impact on the court in his first three seasons, but has now finally started to deliver.
Avdija is averaging 14.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in this 2023-24 season while shooting 50.8% from the field. The highlight of the campaign for him came when he dropped 43 points against the New Orleans Pelicans back in January.
Wizards fans haven't had a lot to celebrate this season, as the team is down at 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 15-63 record, but one of the few positives for them would be Avdija's play. While the 23-year-old is by no means a future star for the franchise to build around, he has what it takes to be a solid contributor in the NBA for a very long time.
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