Joshua Marks
Deni Avdija’s dream season is continuing into the new year as the Israeli NBA sensation sits in seventh place in fan voting to represent the Western Conference in next month’s All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
According to the first fan returns on Dec. 29, the Portland Trail Blazers’ 6-foot-8, 228-pound small forward is well positioned with 606,299 votes. This places him ahead of legends such as Kevin Durant and LeBron James, at the eighth and ninth spots, respectively.
Luka Dončić of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks lead the Western and Eastern conferences, respectively. Fans account for 50% of the vote to determine the five starters, while current NBA players and a media panel each make up 25%.
Nicknamed “Turbo” during his time with the Washington Wizards, the native of Beit Zera, a kibbutz just south of the Sea of Galilee, is having a career season in the Pacific Northwest, where he relocated last year in a trade after playing four seasons in D.C., following his selection by the Wizards with the ninth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
He continues to make a strong case for inclusion in the 75th NBA All-Star Game, hosted by the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Arena in Inglewood on Feb. 15, celebrating his 25th birthday on Saturday by posting a triple-double in a 115-110 road win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Avdija finished the night with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the 16-20 Blazers, who as of Jan. 6 are ninth in the Western Conference standings. He also added a block in 39 minutes of play. It was his third triple-double of the campaign, his ninth game with at least 10 assists and his sixth with 10 or more boards.
Wearing No. 8 on his uniform, Avdija is averaging 25.7 points, 7.1 assists and 7.3 rebounds so far this season, hitting significant milestones along the way, including on Dec. 5, when he became Israel’s all-time NBA scoring leader, surpassing former Sacramento Kings forward Omri Casspi’s career total of 4,642 points.
Before his NBA career, Avdija made his mark with Maccabi Tel Aviv from 2017 to 2020, leading the team to three domestic league titles. He also won back-to-back gold medals at the FIBA U20 European Championship in 2018 in Germany and 2019 in Israel.
His accolades include being named Israeli Premier League MVP in 2020 and FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship MVP in 2019.
