Trail Blazers star sends France to upset loss at EuroBasket

Portland's 24-year-old forward, who finished eighth in the NBA's Most Improved Player voting last season, scored 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds and picked off a stunning five steals as Israel upset Les Bleus, 82-69. Israel held France, ranked No. 3 at EuroBasket by FIBA, to just 13 fourth-quarter points in a stellar defensive effort.

Avdija was the driving force behind the upset win. He scored 10 points in the decisive fourth quarter, where he collected three rebounds and drew three personal fouls. Not known as a high-flyer — Avdija dunked only 20 times last season — he threw down twice against France.

Last season, Avdija made a significant leap forward offensively, upping his scoring to 16.9 points per game. Avdija has always been a good defender, but with Portland, he has figured out how to be more efficient, attempting 4.8 three-pointers per game, up from 3.1 in the 2023-24 season, and drawing fouls for 5.2 free throws per game, up from 3.6. He didn't necessarily shoot better, but he shot smarter.

That was on display Sunday in Poland. Avdija drew 10 fouls, an average of one every 2:37 of gameplay. He got his 23 points on only 10 field goal attempts, because he went 3-for-4 from three-point range and 6-for-9 from the foul line.

If this continues, it makes Avdija an especially valuable player for Portland. He's effective on offense and doesn't need to take a lot of shots — only 11.7 FGA last season — but he can also run the over and take over as a scorer when he needs to, like the fourth quarter against France showed. At the same time, Avdija is 6-foot-9 and able to guard both forward positions, averaging a steal and a half a block per game.

Israel is surprising observers during EuroBasket. It's not out of the question that the Trail Blazers can do that next season, too.