Two years have passed since Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, announced the selection of Danny Avdia in ninth place in the talent-packed 2020 draft.
The forward will take the floor tonight (Monday) at the Menorah-Mabatim Hall in front of the prestigious Auburn College and will wear the national uniform in the first preparatory game for the World Championship qualifier window, and of course the European Championship, which will take place next month.
Avdia is completely different from the player who wore the team's uniform for the last time about two and a half years ago, and the task that the great talent of Israeli basketball is now required to perform is also completely different.
In his first two seasons in the best league in the world, Avdia learned up close to deal with the spotlight that accompanies him becoming a household name and with the difficulties and challenges that the best league in the world poses to players on the other hand.
The young star who has already led the reserve team to two consecutive wins in the European Championship and was chosen as the player of the season in the Premier League, had to change his style overseas and specialize in the small things in order to win playing minutes, as befits a true "role player".
However, this time, in the media of the senior Israeli national team, Avdia will have to face a challenge that he has never experienced - to lead Guy Goodes's team to success as the main star, the one that the rivals are specifically preparing against him and the one that the audience especially came to see.
Undoubtedly, the years overseas have changed and refined the Israeli diamond, but it is precisely his advantages that stood out for the better in the NBA, and the small things of the game that thanks to them he was able to gain appreciation in the Washington uniform, may not be enough for a team that longs for a star to lead it.
Avdia at the previous national team gathering, photo: Barney Ardov
On the shoulders of the national coach and recent national champion, Guy Goodes, will fall the task of integrating Avdia into the formation, knowing how to play for him and activate him as part of the flow and game plan of the team on the offensive side, and to properly use his ability to carry the ball and create, alongside placing him as a main guard in the wings on the opposition's stars.
The person who knows the Israeli national team very well is the Israeli coach of the Czech national team, Nano Ginzburg.
"Danny's size and his ability to play in several roles and maintain several positions are an important tool and a very significant advantage. He brings a lot of aspects and diversity to the team, and at his age he is ripe to lead it," Ginzburg told Israel Hayom in a conversation from his team's training camp ahead of the European Championship. where you will meet the Israeli national team as host.
You have experience with Thomas Storansky. How do you integrate an NBA player who returns to play in the national team?
"I don't see it as a problem. Most of the players are happy to return to their homeland and play with the members of their national team, speak their language and feel part of it. With Danny, the situation will not be any different in my opinion."
Danny has so far served as a "roll player" in Washington. How can you make him more dominant in the team?
"In my experience, things are working out. Storansky also played for many years in the NBA as a secondary player and was easily able to fit in and take on the game and the offensive burden."
Which Dani Avdia will look like in his first game after more than two years in blue and white - it is likely that even the professional team still does not know.
"Danny comes with the aura of an NBA player," Goodes said at the beginning of the week, "but the Israel team is above this or that player. From my conversations with him, it emerged that he really wants to be on the team, and we will use him a lot. We have a plan to introduce him to the system and chemistry, And we'll have to see how we combine it to achieve what we want."
In order to achieve the expected achievements Avdia will have to successfully pass the test - the leadership test.
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