Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija couldn’t capture his second consecutive NBA Western Conference Player of the Week award, but he was nominated for the honor again this week.
Avdija led the Blazers to an impressive 3-1 record this week by averaging 29.8 points (on 48% shooting), 5.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The production helped Portland defeat the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets twice, before falling to the New York Knicks in a close game on Sunday.
The highlight of Avdija’s week came on Wednesday during Portland’s first win against the Rockets. In a 103-102 thriller, Avdija produced a season-high 41 points on 54.2% shooting from the field, while also going 13-15 from the free throw line. During the week’s four games, Avdija shot 88.4% from the stripe on 10.8 attempts per game.
During Portland’s 123-114 loss to the Knicks on Sunday, Avdija exited late in the fourth quarter due to a back injury. The Blazers will reveal more about Avdija’s status later today when they release the injury report for Tuesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors.
Denver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson won the Western Conference Player of the Week award. He averaged 24.5 points and 8 rebounds per game while shooting 70% on 3-pointers to help the Nuggets go 3-1. In the Eastern Conference, Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes won the award after averaging 22 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6 assists per game. The Raptors also went 3-1 on the week.
Alongside Avdija, other Western Conference nominees included Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard.
In the Eastern Conference, nominees included New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, Atlanta Hawks teammates Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels, and Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard.
