No player has benefited more from the Rui Hachimura trade than Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija. With Hachimura traded from Washington to the Los Angeles Lakers, Avdija has enjoyed a newfound role, resulting in more minutes, scoring, and overall production. Avdija even has a new nickname.
Once referred to as “Deni,” a nickname had surfaced for the 2020 lottery pick. Avdija led the Wizards to their sixth straight win Tuesday with a career-high 25 points. During the win over the San Antonio Spurs, Avdija was seen doing a throttle revving celebration.
The move references his new nickname, “Turbo.”
“Turbo” comes from the NBA2K video game. Avdija was playing teammate Monte Morris one-on-one after practice, and Morris said Deni’s game “is all turbo and square,” per Ava Wallace of the Washington Post.
Thus the name “Turbo” stuck, and now the nickname has gone beyond the Wizards’ locker room to the rest of the basketball world.
Last week, the Wizards traded Hachimura to the Los Angeles Lakers for Kendrick Nunn, and three future second-round draft picks. Hachimura’s relationship with the Wizards was strained near the end of his time there. But, Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard highlighted the team wanting to increase Avdija’s minutes as a contributing factor in Hachimura’s trade.
Since the trade, Deni Avdija has averaged 16.3 points and 30.5 minutes through four games. Both are an uptick from his career averages prior. His emergence will have announcers, teammates, and fans used to calling him “Turbo.”
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