Another promising rookie's NBA campaign has been cut short, as Washington Wizards swingman Deni Avdija will miss the rest of the season following a nasty ankle injury he suffered on Wednesday. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed the sad development after Avdija left the Wizards' home game against the Golden State Warriors in a wheelchair.
Per Wojnarowski, Avdija suffered a hairline fracture on his right ankle. While he is not expected to undergo major surgery, he will be unavailable for the time being and likely won't return until next season.
X-Rays on right ankle of Wizards rookie F Deni Avdija reveal a hairline fracture, source tells ESPN. MRI tomorrow. Season over, but no surgery expected to be needed.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 22, 2021
Avdija suffered the injury early versus the Warriors after landing awkwardly on one leg following a shot attempt. It was evident that his injury was serious from the get-go, as his teammate Jordan Bell even covered Avdija's leg to hide the extent of the damage.
Deni Avdija has been taken out of the game after injuring his right leg pic.twitter.com/dhWTIBjql7
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 22, 2021
The 20-year-old from Israel registered 16 points and three rebounds in 16 minutes before exiting the game. The Wizards still won the match, 118-114 and stretched their winning streak to three games.
While Avdija hasn't exactly been lighting it up in his rookie season, he has become an integral part of the Wizards rotation as of late. His size and length on the wings have been a good asset for coach Scott Brooks as they try to break into the top eight in the Eastern Conference. The ninth overall pick averaged modest numbers of 6.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists on 41.7 percent shooting from the floor and 31.5 percent from downtown in 53 games.
Deni Avdija is the second lottery pick this season to suffer a season-ending injury after Warriors center James Wiseman.
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