Deni Avdija’s status as an emerging NBA star was solidified on Thursday when the Portland Trail Blazers’ forward was named to his first All-Star team.
Avdija was one of 14 players voted as a reserve to the NBA’s marquee exhibition event, scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 15, in Inglewood, California.
It’s the first All-Star selection of Avdija’s six-year career and the first for any Blazers player not named Damian Lillard since 2015, when LaMarcus Aldridge was named a reserve. Lillard has represented the Blazers at the All-Star game seven times since 2014, most recently in 2023.
Avdija has been a force all season, using a fearless “turbo” playing style and do-it-all game to establish himself as a pillar of the Blazers’ multiyear roster rebuild. The 6-foot-8 sixth-year forward is averaging 25.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game, while shooting 46.7% from the field, and his individual dominance has been instrumental in keeping the Blazers afloat in a season filled with injuries.
He is one of just three players in the NBA averaging at least 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists — joining Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic — and has produced three triple doubles this season.
Avdija has missed five of the last nine Portland games with a strained lower back, but has been a rock for the injury-ravaged Blazers most of the season, providing invaluable scoring and playmaking as injuries sidelined everyone on the roster except Toumani Camara for at least one game.
The rash of ailments has forced the Blazers to play more than half of their games without a natural point guard and Avdija filled the void impressively, evolving into the team’s primary ball-handler and playmaker in a point-forward role.
Despite his recent back injury, Avdija still ranks among the league leaders in a host of statistical categories, including 11th in total points (1,121), 13th in assists (294), fourth in free throws made (335), third in free throws attempted (419) and 16th in 30-point games (12). He’s finished with double-digits in assists nine times, scored 20 or more points 35 times and was named the Western Conference Player of the Week in early January.
The Blazers (23-26) stumbled to a four-game losing streak at the end of January, but had climbed over .500 earlier in the month, keeping them in the thick of the race for the NBA Play-In Tournament. Avdija’s breakout season has been the catalyst.
Everyone from LeBron James to Kevin Durant has called Avdija an All-Star at some point this season, but it didn’t become official until Sunday, when he received enough votes from Western Conference coaches to land a reserve spot.
The coaches, who voted regardless of position, picked Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Denver’s Jamal Murray, Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, Houston’s Kevin Durant, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Los Angeles’ LeBron James, in addition to Avdija.
He’s the 17th player in Blazers history to earn an All-Star nod.
This year’s All-Star game will have a new, three-team, round-robin format, featuring two teams comprised of U.S. players and a third of international players, which Avdija — who is from Israel — will join. The games are scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m. at Intuit Dome.