Deni Avdija was set to be the Washington Wizards starting small forward for Wednesday's opening game against the Indiana Pacers but he left the game after suffering an ankle injury. But Wizards fans and Avdija's teammate Bradley Beal can exhale a bit after Avdija received some positive news.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Avdija's ankle injury is not believed to be serious after a negative MRI.
X-Rays negative on Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija right ankle, source tells ESPN. Injury is believed to be a sprain and "nothing serious," per source.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 20, 2022
The news is a much welcome sign for the Wizards. Deni Avdija was drafted by the Wizards with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2020 draft and is one of the team's top young talent. Avdija is coming off a promising second year in the NBA during which he averaged 8.4 points per game and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 43.2 percent from the field and playing in all 82 games.
Avdija was named the Wizards starting small forward right before Wednesday's game, beating out Will Barton and Rui Hachimura. He had missed the entire preseason with a groin injury he suffered in the off-season during competition with the Israeli national team.
Aside from his offense, Avdija has been a solid defensive player and will provide the Wizards with some size on the wings alongside Bradley Beal.
Avdija has been playing professional basketball since he was 16 when he suited up for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli League. He played for the Israeli U20 team during FIBA competition in 2018 and 2019 and helped the team win gold medals both times.
It remains to be seen how much time Avdija may have to miss with this injury.
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