NYT/Athletic Story on Deni, by..

[e_blazer]

Jason Quick. You’re gonna love it.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6975290/2026/01/21/deni-avdijia-trail-blazers-wizards-israel-nba/

 

[Cugel]

no access. care to summarize?

 

[e_blazer]

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.

Some excerpts:

“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. “

 

[noknobs]

Good article, thanks for posting.

 

[e_blazer]

“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. “


“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.”

“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.”

 

[e_blazer]

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.’”

“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.”

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

One thing I am thinking about Deni. I don't think he should be considered a point forward like Batum. He is a big point guard. He should be our starting point guard even when other guys come back from injuries. He will only get better at point guard skills and I think will cut down on his turnovers, really his only weakness. And maybe we should be building a really big, long team around him. Magic Johnson's showtime team had only one guy under 6'9".
This really gives Scoot only a path to being a backup PG. I'm not sure what the implications are for that. It also means we have two aging, not particularly tall spare PGs, one of whom is highly paid. For me, this means Holiday definitely needs to go ASAP if we can jettison him without having to include an asset. Not sure what it means for the even smaller, defensively challenged Lillard.

 

[Everything Beagle]

no access. care to summarize?

We already know Quick has no access

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

We already know Quick has no access

very well played.
and true

 

[Pinwheel1]

One thing I am thinking about Deni. I don't think he should be considered a point forward like Batum. He is a big point guard. He should be our starting point guard even when other guys come back from injuries. He will only get better at point guard skills and I think will cut down on his turnovers, really his only weakness. And maybe we should be building a really big, long team around him. Magic Johnson's showtime team had only one guy under 6'9".
This really gives Scoot only a path to being a backup PG. I'm not sure what the implications are for that. It also means we have two aging, not particularly tall spare PGs, one of whom is highly paid. For me, this means Holiday definitely needs to go ASAP if we can jettison him without having to include an asset. Not sure what it means for the even smaller, defensively challenged Lillard.

Good question. I have been thinking about it a lot as well. I am not sure there is just one way to do it, and I like our potential depth.

I think you mix it up throughout the game. The key is to push the ball up the court as much as possible and keep the pressure on the D. Scoot is one more guy who can push it. The key is cut down on the turnovers, and if you have shooters like Dame trailing the play...find them for the open 3.

When things slow down, or at the end of games, then you most definitely want Deni with the ball in his hands surrounded by shooters. But I am not sure I would label him a PG. If we determine what position players are by who they can guard, then Deni is a forward, and Jrue can be your backup SG.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

One thing I am thinking about Deni. I don't think he should be considered a point forward like Batum. He is a big point guard. He should be our starting point guard even when other guys come back from injuries. He will only get better at point guard skills and I think will cut down on his turnovers, really his only weakness. And maybe we should be building a really big, long team around him. Magic Johnson's showtime team had only one guy under 6'9".
This really gives Scoot only a path to being a backup PG. I'm not sure what the implications are for that. It also means we have two aging, not particularly tall spare PGs, one of whom is highly paid. For me, this means Holiday definitely needs to go ASAP if we can jettison him without having to include an asset. Not sure what it means for the even smaller, defensively challenged Lillard.

So if Scoot is the backup PG would Dame be 3rd string?

 

[SheedSoNasty]

I’m so stoked that Deni had turned into the player he is today. I was for the trade when it happened, but I never imagined he would turn into this. It sounds like all that pressure has paid off in a big way.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

So if Scoot is the backup PG would Dame be 3rd string?

I don't know. All I know is that Deni should be the primary PG.

 

[Samuel]

"When was the last time you cried" is my favorite ongoing Jason Quick gag.

 

[HailBlazers]

All I know is that Deni should be the primary PG.

All I know is that's not sustainable.

 

[blazerfan11]

no access. care to summarize?

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

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

“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.”

(After the injuries to the point guards)
'
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.

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.

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.’”

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.