Deni Avdija’s unexpected rise to NBA’s new breakout star — and Israel’s greatest player ever – The Athletic

PORTLAND, Ore. — If there is a place to start when chronicling the rise of Deni Avdija into this season’s breakout star of the NBA, he figures it should be back home in Israel during his youth. The only problem: It involves a tale he doesn’t like to relive.

“I don’t know if I want to tell this story,” Avdija said. “It’s embarrassing.”

Before the Portland Trail Blazers forward became a candidate for this season’s All-Star Game with statistics that put him in the same company as Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Avdija was an unsure teenager.

But he wasn’t just any teenager. He was a basketball prodigy playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv, the most prestigious club in Israel, which meant he sometimes played with and against grown men in their late 20s, early 30s. His own teammates, during practices, were the most unforgiving.

“Any time something happened, they would find ways to pick on me,” Avdija remembered. “When you are 15, 16 … it bugs you, man. I was just learning about life. I was so young and goofy, and married guys, guys who have kids, would just pick on me.”

One of life’s great revelations during those days for Avdija was the allure of the opposite sex. He secured a girlfriend, which came with an unexpected gift: a hickey.

“Right here on my neck,” he said, pointing below his left ear. “I got to practice, and it was the worst practice of my life.”

As he dribbled, his grown-man teammates guarded him while making smooching noises. When he cut through the lane, they puckered their lips as he passed.

“And that day was just one example,” Avdija said of the teasing.

Every day included either coaches yelling at him or players bullying him with bumps, elbows and pushes.

“I knew his potential, and because of that, I wanted to make it tough on him,” said Maccabi’s Oded Shalom, who coached Avdija on his Under-15 and Under-16 teams. “I wanted to make his life hard.”

Shalom had older and bigger kids guard Avdija. When he played for the senior Maccabi teams, Avdija said coaches cursed at him. Frustrated, he would often return home, retreat to his room and cry.

“It brought down my joy for playing the game, because everybody saw me as that guy with potential who hasn’t blossomed yet,” Avdija said. “I had all that pressure in every workout, in every game, to prove myself.”

Deni Avdija (10) being coached by Oded Shalom with his Maccabi Tel Aviv U-16 team. (Photo courtesy Oded Shalom)

At home, there was little sympathy. His father, Zufer, is what Avdija describes as “a hard-nosed, old-school Balkan.” In his day, he was a 6-foot-8 forward for the Yugoslavian national team who later played in the Israeli professional league.

“He’s a ‘back-in-the-day, we-ran-up-mountains’ type of guy, and he tried to get me to be like that,” Avdija said of his father.

His mother, Sharon, is an Israeli who was a standout runner who also played basketball. She is more nurturing than Zufer, but also carries expectations of excellence in competition.

“Car rides home had a lot of criticism, so every game was emotional, and it just kind of drained me,” he said.

The teasing. The cursing. The criticism. The doubts. They cut him, but never pierced him. Instead, he formed a layer of protection that he compared to a callus.

“It all made me tough — like, really, really tough,” Avdija said. “You know how you run a lot and your feet start to get thick skin on them? It was like that. The more I would hear (criticisms), the more I would think, ‘This is nothing.’ I had been dealing with it so much that I got to a point where it was like, ‘I don’t care.’”

He had become hardened. Tough.

That brings us to today, in Portland, where the 25-year-old Avdija is averaging 26.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game. Only Dončić and Jokić are also posting averages of 25-7-6.

Shalom says Avdija’s breakout season — he is a frontrunner for the NBA’s Most Improved Player — has cemented him not only as Israel’s most accomplished basketball player, but perhaps its most accomplished athlete.

“Even though he is only 25, I think he is Israel’s most successful athlete in history,’’ Shalom said. “We’ve had some great gymnasts — and I hope everyone forgives me for saying it, because we’ve had some great athletes — but I think Deni has become the greatest.”

Avdija says his NBA emergence is a result of a combination of factors: an empowerment from his former coach Chauncey Billups; chemistry with his teammates who celebrate his success; and, mostly, the toughness he developed from those teenage years.

“I think I’m able to get through stuff without complaining or feeling sorry for myself,” Avdija said. “I’ve learned I can’t have any excuses. I’ve had to deal with a lot of stuff in my career: not playing, players being physical with me, no air space … stuff that frustrated me. But I think from a young age, I’ve always had to figure it out on my own. And I think that has made me tough.”

The foundation of his rise was set in Israel. His catapult into stardom took place in a closed-door meeting in Portland.

It wasn’t quite as trying as his youth in Israel, but the first months in Portland were not easy for Avdija.

He was traded from Washington in the summer of 2024 for Malcolm Brogdon and first-round picks from 2024 (used to select Bub Carrington) and 2029. At the time, the trade was largely viewed as an overspend by the Blazers for a player who averaged 14.7 points and 7.2 rebounds the year prior.

Deni Avdija played four seasons with the Washington Wizards before getting traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in July 2024. He averaged 9.8 points per game over his Washington tenure. (Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)

After his first 20 games, Avdija scuffled, averaging 11.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists. In eight of those games, he came off the bench.

“When I came here, it was hard for me to find my role,” Avdija said. “I had to find a new identity.”

Billups, the Hall of Fame point guard who coached the Blazers last season before being suspended by the NBA in October while being part of a federal gambling investigation, helped him find that identity.

In December 2024, Billups called Avdija into his office and simplified his role: Grab the rebound, and go.

“Chauncey came up with the idea that when I grabbed the rebound, it was my time — just push it and go,” Avdija said.

The tentative player who was unsure when and where he should shoot suddenly became a boulder rolling down a mountain. He was a 6-foot-8 blur, too quick for forwards and too big for guards.

By January, Avdija in transition became the Blazers’ biggest weapon, and his style became the template for how Portland wanted to play: fast, aggressive, physical.

“When I started to play like that, my confidence kind of got built up,” Avdija said. “Chauncey would always tell me he thought I could be great. He saw things in parts of my game that I didn’t value as much, and I appreciate that.”

Over the final two months of last season, Avdija averaged 24.9 points per game. It was like a new player had bloomed. And it wasn’t just coast-to-coast forays. He was hitting jumpers, setting up teammates, finishing drives.

“I went from transition to half court to facilitating a little more … everything opened up a little bit,” Avdija said.

He finished with averages of 16.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists, and the Blazers thought they had a foundational block to anchor their rebuild.

Little did they know, stardom was coming. And this breakout season for Avdija came almost by accident.

Before training camp, Blazers point guard Scoot Henderson tore his hamstring. He has yet to play this season. Then in mid-November, after just 12 games, starting point guard Jrue Holiday suffered a calf injury. He missed 27 consecutive games before returning Jan. 11. Two other guards — Blake Wesley (broken foot) and Matisse Thybulle (thumb) — have also been sidelined with long-term injuries.

With no true point guards left on the roster, Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter looked around and figured Avdija was the best option. After all, seven years ago, when Splitter was embarking on his post-NBA playing career, his first assignment was to scout the EuroLeague Final Four in Vitoria, Spain. He remembers being drawn to an 18-year-old playing for Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

“And he was playing point guard,” Splitter said of Avdija.

In emergency mode, the Blazers plugged Avdija in at point guard and let him have the reins to the team. It was in stark contrast to his role in Washington, when he seldom initiated action himself, relying instead on passes to set him up.

The empowerment of having the ball in his hands more has elevated his game into what Splitter insists should be a no-brainer selection to the All-Star team. He also has elevated his teammates while solidifying the banged-up Blazers as a Play-In team.

“People have to understand: He is just carrying us,” Splitter said. “And he’s doing it playing a different position.”

Avdija needed time to feel out his role in Portland. “I had to find a new identity,” he said. (Jaime Valdez / Imagn Images)

Splitter chuckled and remembered a play in the Jan. 7 game against the Houston Rockets, a game which Avdija scored 41 points in a 103-102 Blazers win.

“He drove against Steven Adams, and he threw Adams out of his spot, which is unthinkable,” Splitter said. “(Adams) is the strongest guy in the NBA, and he’s shouldering him. There’s numerous plays like that. … It’s every game … and it just shows the quality of his play.”

Before missing three games last week with a back injury, Avdija was leading the NBA in minutes free throws made. He returned Sunday against Sacramento and had 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the Blazers’ victory, which solidified their ninth place standing in the West at 22-22. He now ranks second in free throws made (325), sixth in points and eighth in assists. He has scored 20 or more points 34 times, which is rivaled only by Gilgeous-Alexander (42), Tyrese Maxey (36) and Jaylen Brown (34) .

He has become one of the most valuable commodities in the NBA, so much so that the Blazers’ biggest star — Damian Lillard — calls Avdija essential to the Blazers’ future.

“I think he is a must-have player in the league right now,” Lillard said. “He puts pressure on the rim, draws fouls, can make 3s, has size, speed. … You can see the league is changing, and if a team wants to be successful, you gotta have a guy like him. You gotta have a forward who can do all those things — and he’s all of those things.”

Avdija is doing all of the above while playing on one of the most team-friendly contracts in the NBA. Avdija is in the second year of a four-year, $55 million deal. And it declines each year: He makes $14.4 million this season, $13.1 million next season and $11.8 million in 2027-28.

“Do I regret the contract? No. It gave me a lot of calmness, because I know I’m secure,” Avdija said. “That was my goal. I told my agent, and he was like, ‘I think you should sign for less years,’ but I was like, ‘If I outplay my contract, I outplay my contract. We will deal with that later.’

“I’m not going to worry about $10 million more or $20 million less. This is what I got, and I’m going to say thank you and not take it for granted. It’s still a lot of money.”

“People have to understand: He is just carrying us,” Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter said. “And he’s doing it playing a different position.” (Troy Wayrynen / Imagn Images)

Avdija is growing to love Portland. In the summer and fall, he takes his boat onto Lake Oswego where he fishes, or pulls an inner tube, or just relaxes with a drink. He has come to appreciate the food scene, particularly the area’s Thai restaurants — especially Eem, a fusion of Thai and barbeque.

He said living in the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego, amid the Douglas firs and the views of Mount Hood, “brings me a lot of peace and calmness.”

“I enjoy Portland and the nature around it … and in general, I think there are really special and unique people here and some special places in terms of food and culture,” Avdija said. “It doesn’t feel like a typical U.S. city.”

Still, it doesn’t feel like home. He says his biggest challenge these days is not the heightened defenses teams throw at him, or the pressure of carrying such a depleted roster. His biggest challenge is being away from Israel.

On top of being homesick, he says on social media he sees examples of rage and hate for his nationality. He doesn’t feel pressure to add his voice to the dialogue surrounding his country’s conflict in the Middle East and, in fact, feels irritated when he is put in the middle of it.

“I’m an athlete. I don’t really get into politics, because it’s not my job,” Avdija said. “I obviously stand for my country, because that’s where I’m from. It’s frustrating to see all the hate. Like, I have a good game or get All-Star votes, and all the comments are people connecting me to politics. Like, why can’t I just be a good basketball player? Why does it matter if I’m from Israel, or wherever in the world, or what my race is? Just respect me as a basketball player.

“You don’t have to love what I stand for or how I look, but if I’m a good player, give props. All this hate … for no reason. Like, I’m deciding things in the world.”

He said he understands that he has a larger platform than most to deliver his viewpoint, but he said he doesn’t think that requires him to broadcast his opinion or politicize it.

“I’ll be honest: What do people expect me to do?” Avdija said. “This is my country, where I was born, where I grew up. I love my country; there are a lot of great things about my country. But obviously, not everyone is educated and knows what is going on, and that’s what pisses me off. Because if you are educated and know what is going on, it’s fine to say what you think and say who you think is right or wrong. But if you are not educated and you are not part of the Middle East, and you don’t understand how long this goes back and understand the consequences and everything … just don’t say anything.

“I’m from there, and I respect my country and I stand behind it. I’m a proud Israeli, because that’s where I grew up. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for Israel and the support the people and fans gave me. But all the extra stuff around it? It’s just unnecessary.”

Back in Israel, Shalom said Portland games have become must-see events — even when the Blazers start a 7 p.m. PT home game, it is 5 a.m. in Israel. He even said his wife, who is not a sports fan, is sometimes the first to give him the news from the most current game. And around the country, the internet and newspapers are abuzz with updates.

“When he was with Washington, it wasn’t like that. Even in the beginning with Portland,” Shalom said. “But I think in the middle of last year, he had a big change with him, and everybody wants to see him. Everybody is so happy for him.”

Avdija’s popularity in Israel likely played a role in his finishing fifth in the Western Conference in fan voting for the All-Star Game, his 2,202,605 votes placing him ahead of Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, Lebron James and Kevin Durant. Only Doncic, Jokic, Stephen Curry and Gilgeous-Alexander received more votes in the West.

Shalom says the Avdija All-Star push has offered a beacon of light for those enduring a time of hardship.

“It’s not easy times for us in Israel, and he gives us happiness and makes us proud,” Shalom said. “And also, for every kid in Israel that plays basketball or a sport, he shows it can be done — you can become a star in the world. I think it’s important for those kids to know that everybody can dream to become Deni, but to become Deni, you have to work as hard as Deni worked when he was young.

“I have worked for Maccabi for 20 years, and there is not one person who has worked harder than Deni.”

Avdija is adamant that his ascension is not finished. He believes he can do more, that he can become even better.

“I know I have another level that I can reach,” he said. “I’m still making a lot of I’m-new-to-this-situation mistakes. Before this year, I haven’t had the ball at the end of the game a lot. Teams haven’t focused on me this much … and I haven’t had the freedom to do a lot of the things. It takes some getting used to.”

Splitter agreed, noting that Avdija is still learning through extended film sessions with coaches, who walk him through different coverages and situations.

On top of the film study, Splitter said he also rides Avdija harder than any other player.

“Knowing where he came from, I can coach him really hard,” Splitter said. “There are timeouts when I’m screaming at him, like at the top of my lungs: ‘WAKE UP, DENI!’ … and he’s fine with it. Sometimes, I feel I go too hard, and I feel bad, but he tells me, ‘Don’t worry, Coach. I’ve got you.’”

A subplot to Avdija’s emergence is what is waiting in the shadows: the return of Lillard, who is out this season recovering from an Achilles injury. The nine-time All-Star guard and franchise leader in points said he can’t help but dream about how potent a Lillard-Avdija pairing can become.

“I think he is actually the perfect type of forward for me to play with,” Lillard said. “He puts pressure on the rim, he’s good at facilitating, he commands attention … so me on the opposite side of the floor of him, and him being a forward as opposed to him being a guard, I think it’s a really good balance.”

In the meantime, as Avdija elevates himself into elite NBA company, he remains more focused on the team. He said he would be honored to be an All-Star selection, but he is more concerned with winning. His unselfish approach is made easy, he said, because he has never enjoyed a team as much as this Blazers group.

“Our team chemistry is amazing,” Avdija said. “I genuinely feel like my teammates enjoy seeing me succeed, and that means a lot. It’s something that is not very common in the NBA, so I’m enjoying this. I know it’s not always going to be sunshine and rainbows, but I think I’m ready for everything.”