Neoklis Avdalas Has Two Paths to Becoming an NBA Player

The 18-year-old Greek point forward impresses with his combination of size and skill but needs to significantly improve in a couple of areas if he’s serious about becoming an NBA player. He has time, but here’s what we want to see from the youngster.

Neoklis Avdalas / fiba.basketbal

After spending time in the Panathinaikos youth system and playing for the Adidas Next Generation Select Team earlier this year, Greek point forward Neoklis Avdalas made the move to sign with Peristeri BC and is looking at the first run of consistent senior minutes of his career at only 18-years-old. Standing roughly 6-foot-7 in shoes with a 6-foot-8 wingspan Avdalas has looked solid through Peristeri’s first couple of games. 

Avdalas leans more into the point forward and on-ball wing skillset at the moment and is looking to continue that development with Peristeri for the foreseeable future. It’s easy to see why, his combination of size, skill, and basketball intelligence has him slated for a solid point-forward outcome reminiscent of Joe Ingles and others who thrived as height-plus creators and pick-and-roll operators in the modern NBA. 

While that role seems to be the most likely outcome for Avdalas, there are areas of his game he’ll need to improve. His three-point shot is inconsistent. He’s never had a stretch of play at the youth or senior level where he’s shot 30 percent or better from beyond the arc. Ditto for free throw shooting, where he’s regularly been under 65 percent across all competitions. There needs to be a notable improvement in at least one of these areas as soon as possible. Avdalas likes to attack the rim aggressively, especially in transition, and it suits his size and skillset but could easily be negated by his current struggles at the free throw line. 

His handle in the halfcourt could be better too. In transition and once he gets downhill this matters less. He’s difficult to slow down or get in front of in these spots, allowing him to play fast and loose with his handle. In more patient halfcourt sets, where he’s setting up the offense or trying to create for himself his lack of protection could cause problems at higher levels and make it difficult to trust him in a point-forward role. 

Avdalas is not limited to the point forward path. If he can improve as a spot-up shooter, that would nicely compliment what stands out as arguably his best skill currently: cutting. Avdalas moves intelligently without the ball and knows how to finish and even keep the ball moving for others who free up shortly after he does. With a good spot-up three-point shot, positive basketball IQ, his size, and love for dunking Avdalas could also have a future as an off-ball catch-and-shoot wing who would also offer a release valve as a secondary creator. 

Avdalas’ future is wide open, and with improvement as a shooter, he likely ends up an NBA player one way or another. In what role exactly remains to be seen, but the potential is there. He plans to continue to develop with Peristeri at the senior level, but could alternatively pursue an NIL opportunity in college basketball in the States should he need a plan B. He will be an intriguing prospect to monitor for the next couple of seasons at minimum.

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