Evaluating Neoklis Avdalas Against PAOK BC in a Greek League Basketball Game

January 16th, 2025

This time around, I decided to watch Peristeri’s 6-8 point forward, Neoklis Avdalas play in a December 29th Greek League basketball game against PAOK, with thanks to YouTube via EPT A.E. Neoklis Avdalas is a tall, athletic playmaker that can make plays either as the point forward and he also can play off the ball, and he also has shown a solid jump shot this season, so therefore I decided to take the time to assess his skills in this game. Here are my thoughts on how he fared, as well as where he may currently stack up as a prospect for the NBA.

Peristeri’s 6-8 forward, Neoklis Avdalas scored 19 points, made 3 threes, and had 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 assist in his team’s 84-74 loss to PAOK B.C. on December 29th.
(Photo: FIBA, via Sports Illustrated)

Neoklis Avdalas had a fairly solid showing in his team’s tough loss to PAOK. He is an agile, skilled point forward that has versatile scoring skills, and he can make hustle plays on both ends of the floor.

He showcased a fairly solid outside shot in this game. Avdalas showed that he can make threes both off the catch and dribble, and he also was able to utilize a crossover move to smoothly knock down a three-pointer once. However, he was a bit streaky with his jump shot on offense. He also showed a satisfactory ability to score off the dribble as well as off of curl cuts. Avdalas can finish plays using either hand, and he also was able to go to his left to score on a fallaway layup in traffic. He also can score off of quick cuts. He was able to get the ball on a cut, and he used a power dribble and a spin move off the glass. He also caught a lob to score another time. On the downside, he would sometimes take tough, contested shots that would lead to some misses, and he had a couple of his shots blocked.

Also, he showcased decent playmaking skills. Though he did primarily look to score on offense, Avdalas showed an apt ability to make passes off the dribble as well as to find open teammates on the move to set up scoring chances for his teammates. On one play late in the game though, he threw an inaccurate lob pass that ended up hitting the glass and getting intercepted.

He also displayed an adequate ability to rebound the basketball. Avdalas would chase down balls to get boards on both ends of the floor, as he pushed the pace once off of a defensive board, and he also was able to tip another ball to a teammate. He also played adequate defense in this game. Avdalas was able to run in to quickly intercept a pass to get a steal. He also would use his length, anticipation skills, and positioning to contest shots to force misses as well as to cut off penetration from opposing ball handlers. On the downside, he would tend to get caught ball watching as he would over-help off of his man, and he would be late to close out, which would lead him to give up three-point baskets to his opponents.

Overall, Neoklis Avdalas played fairly well in his team’s loss to PAOK. He is a skilled playmaker that can help his team in a variety of ways, and he could end up being a steal for an NBA team, especially if he is available to be selected in the second round of the 2025 draft.

All in all, those are my thoughts on how Avdalas fared in this game. Thanks for reading.