While in the history of Israeli athletics the ceiling for success was simply “making it,” Beit Zera native Deni Avdija is currently busy shattering that ceiling.
The former Maccabi Tel Aviv forward is taking the NBA by storm as a central playmaker for the Portland Trail Blazers, a performance that has catapulted the 25-year-old into the league’s conversation as one of its most complete two-way stars and the front runner for the league’s Most Improved Player award.
Through January, he has consistently delivered high-scoring performances and is among an elite group of NBA players combining scoring, rebounding, and playmaking – a statistical profile rare for a forward of his age. In just his sixth season, he has vaulted into the NBA’s upper echelon, currently standing as one of only five players in the entire league averaging at least 25 points, seven rebounds, and six assists – a statistical club typically reserved for perennial MVP candidates.
Since a mid-season role shift under interim coach Tiago Splitter, Avdija has become the fulcrum of Portland’s offense and one of the most productive two-way forwards in the league. With his scoring, playmaking, and rebounding rates placing him among the NBA’s top performers, he has drawn unabashed praise from within the organization, even as he continues to refine his game.
“People have to understand – he is just carrying us,” Splitter said in an interview with the online publication The Athletic, noting how Avdija’s expanded playmaking responsibilities, forced by roster injuries, have transformed him into a team leader while still under development. “And he’s doing it playing a different position.”
That blend of elite production and ongoing growth underscores why his performance this season matters so much for the Trail Blazers’ conference standings and for Avdija’s own long-term projection as a potential NBA all-star.
The Maccabi crucible
Before he ever wore an NBA uniform, Avdija debuted in one of Europe’s most demanding environments, Maccabi Tel Aviv, where, as a teenager, he practiced and competed against grown men and was pushed relentlessly in workouts and games.
He has described those early years as “embarrassing” yet essential, recalling how older and stronger teammates regularly picked on him during practices, and how constant criticism from coaches and veterans left him emotionally drained but ultimately stronger.
“It all made me tough – like, really, really tough,” he told The Athletic, likening the process to developing calluses: The more he absorbed, the more resilient he became.
“I’ve learned I can’t have any excuses.... I think from a young age, I’ve always had to figure it out on my own,” he said, crediting that unfiltered early pressure with the mental edge he now carries as a professional.
Avdija’s journey, rising from youth leagues to MVP honors in the Israeli Basketball Premier League and meaningful minutes against seasoned EuroLeague competitors, illustrates the kind of physical and psychological preparation that can make international prospects NBA-ready.
In a conversation with the Magazine, The Baseline, a media group covering basketball in Israel, said: “He’s unique in how special he is, but don’t be surprised if more Israelis are in the NBA in the next few years. The next generation is special, and he’s had a huge part to play in that.”
The Baseline suggests that the model Avdija followed at the beginning of his career offers continued promise for the Israeli Premier League as a producer of high-level talent capable of competing at basketball’s highest tiers.
Identity, expectations, and unwanted politics
As Avdija’s star is rising in the NBA, so, too, is the intensity of external interpretation of his success, not always in strictly athletic terms. In an extensive interview with The Athletic, he made clear that being Israeli has at times cast a shadow over how some fans and critics judge him.
“I’m an athlete. I don’t really get into politics because it’s not my job,” he said, underscoring that his primary identity in the NBA, at least in his own mind, is that of a competitor, not a geopolitical representative.
“I obviously stand for my country because that’s where I’m from.... But all the extra stuff around it? It’s just unnecessary.”
Avdija pushed back sharply on what he described as disproportionate criticism tied to his nationality rather than his play on the court.
“Why can’t I just be a good basketball player?” he asked, noting the controversy and criticism surrounding Israel.
“Why does it matter if I’m from Israel... or what my race is? Just respect me as a basketball player.”
It is easy to sympathize with Avdija’s frustration at being treated as a diplomat rather than a forward. Yet as his former coach at Maccabi Tel Aviv’s U-15 (under 15 years old) and U-16 teams, Oded Shalom, points out, his presence in the NBA holds a symbolic value for Israeli society that transcends the unwanted political noise. Shalom described how Portland Trail Blazers games have become “must-see events” across Israel, even when they begin before dawn locally.
“Everybody wants to see him. Everybody is so happy for him,” Shalom told The Athletic, highlighting how Avdija’s rise has become a source of pride amid difficult times in Israel. He went further, explaining what Avdija represents to the next generation:
“For every kid in Israel who 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 of becoming Deni, but to become Deni, you have to work as hard as Deni worked when he was young.”
In Shalom’s telling, that hard work, not politics, is the lesson that resonates most deeply.
Avdija’s perspective highlights a broader contemporary experience familiar to many Israelis and Jews in the Diaspora: Visibility does not preclude misunderstanding, and nationality too often becomes shorthand for views or actions a person neither espouses nor has publicly articulated. For those attuned to how global audiences process stories about Israel, his stance resonates as both a personal boundary and a plea for fair judgment: Respect the athlete’s excellence. Separate it from the broader controversies that inevitably surround anything associated with his country and people.
Importantly, Avdija has also expressed genuine pride in where he comes from. He has called himself a “proud Israeli” and acknowledged the role his upbringing and support at home has played in his journey to the NBA.
This balance – pride in identity, paired with a desire not to be reduced to it – is central to understanding how he navigates the limelight amid a charged global backdrop.■