Deni Avdija

Deni Avdija (Hebrew: דני אבדיה; born January 3, 2001) is an Israeli professional basketball player who plays as a small forward for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted ninth overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2020 NBA Draft, he is the highest-drafted Israeli player in NBA history and became the first player of Israeli descent to be named an NBA All-Star in 2026. Prior to his NBA career, Avdija won three consecutive Israeli League championships with Maccabi Tel Aviv from 2018 to 2020 and earned the league's Most Valuable Player award in 2020, becoming the youngest recipient in history at age 19.

After four seasons with the Wizards, Avdija was traded to the Trail Blazers in October 2024, where he emerged as a premier player, averaging career highs in the 2025-26 season and earning All-Star honors. He has also been recognized for his commitment to Jewish tradition and Israeli identity through public actions and national honors.

Deni Avdija was born on January 3, 2001, in the kibbutz of Beit Zera in northern Israel. His mother, Sharon Artzi, a native of the same kibbutz and an Israeli Jew, competed as a track and field athlete and basketball player, providing a household immersed in competitive sports culture. His father, Zufer Avdija, immigrated from Pristina in then-Yugoslavia (present-day Kosovo), where he began his career as a professional basketball player of Gorani ethnicity; Zufer later played for over two decades in Israeli leagues after moving to Israel and took on coaching roles, directly influencing family dynamics around athletic discipline.

Avdija has two half-brothers from his father's prior marriage, contributing to a blended family structure shaped by Zufer's earlier life in Yugoslavia. Growing up in the communal setting of Kibbutz Beit Zera, characterized by collective responsibility and shared labor, Avdija's early environment emphasized teamwork and self-reliance, reinforced by his parents' emphasis on physical fitness as a core family value. This Israeli upbringing, amid a family of athletes with multicultural roots, fostered his identification with national institutions and resilience in a setting blending kibbutz traditions with immigrant influences.

Avdija initiated organized basketball training at age 8 with the Bnei Herzliya youth team near his hometown. In 2013, at age 12, he transferred to the Maccabi Tel Aviv youth academy, leaving his local Herzliya club for a more competitive environment. The move presented initial adaptation difficulties, including a period of struggle to meet the heightened demands, but fostered accelerated skill growth through intensive daily practices and tactical coaching.