Israeli NBA basketball player Deni Avdija on Wednesday took his first steps on the Washington Wizards’ home court since the team traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers. It lasted six minutes as the 24-year-old small forward exited the game with an injury to his left quadriceps.
The night started promising for the athlete hailing from Beit Zera, a kibbutz just south of the Sea of Galilee, with the Capital One Arena hosting the local Jewish community for Jewish Heritage Night.
Great to be on the floor for the @israelbonds Washington New Leadership #Jewish Heritage Night game with the @WashWizards 🇮🇱❤️🏀 pic.twitter.com/FWej0tItgQ
— Jason Langsner (@jasonlangsner) February 27, 2025
Avdija scored 5 points, grabbed two rebounds and had one assist during his brief time on the floor before departing in the second quarter. In his last home game as a Wizard on April 12, 2024, the hoopster had a double-double with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists in 38 minutes of play in a 127-129 loss against the Chicago Bulls.
He was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers on July 6, 2024.
In Wednesday night’s game, Portland (26-33) beat Washington (10-48) 129-121.
“It’s a little hard for me,” Avdija said during his postgame interview with the press. “I wanted to finish the game, help my team. But at least we got the win. It was a scrappy game. But it’s part of sports, so I’m gonna get better, get some treatment, and I’ll be alright.”
Back in the district 🫂@WashWizards | #RipCity pic.twitter.com/YbC5Vq7jt8
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) February 26, 2025
Avdija added: “I just wanted to have fun, embrace all the fans. Embrace all the love, and that’s about it.”
He also talked about the outpouring of support from the fans.
“I can’t say thank you enough for all my fans to show up wherever I go. It can be the middle of the country. It can be the West Coast, East Coast, whatever. They show up. They show me love. I wish I could hug each and every one of them. But I can’t. I just hope they’re going to keep supporting and I play also for them.”
Avdija was drafted ninth overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2020 NBA Draft, where he played for four seasons at the Capital One Arena before his trade.
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 League MVP in 2020 and FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship MVP in 2019.
