The rain in Portland never stops. Annoying drizzles all the time. The city, with an average of 260 rainy days per year, puddles that never dry up, and gray skies 24 hours a day, is mostly quiet. But for us Israelis, the most remote and opposite place from Tel Aviv – the capital of Oregon state at the western edge of the US – is where we're all looking.
The halo we're gazing at floats above Deni Avdija's head, who is at the peak of his career and posting star-level numbers in the best basketball league in the world. In March so far, he's posted impressive averages – 23.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game, becoming a candidate for player of the month. No Israeli has ever reached such numbers, and he's only 24, likely still far from his career peak.
But the numbers are just part of the story. Behind them stands a young man who isn't truly aware of his status in Israel. From 7,500 miles westward, Avdija doesn't fully grasp that he's a mega-star and a source of Israeli pride, certainly in a period when we're searching for symbols of national success.
Portland has fewer than 500 Israelis and is far from Israeli centers like Los Angeles, New York, or Miami. Avdija blends into the local population, one of them. The disappointment when people in Israel heard about the trade that moved him less than a year ago from Washington to a basketball team playing in the most remote place in the US, one most stars don't want to go to and whose future looked gray, turned into the best thing for the Israeli's career takeoff.
And him? He still feels like that same young man who looks everyone in the eye. He remains true to himself, shakes everyone's hand, signs for kids until the arena lights go out. He enjoys the moment but knows when and where to put his ego in the right place. A local hero inside and outside the "Moda Center" arena in downtown Portland. A player who took a failing team and united it. This season might not end with a playoff appearance, but the direction is clear – and the present is just the door to the future for the one who will likely be remembered as the greatest Israeli basketball player.
More than just a basketball player
For four days we shadowed Avdija up close. At the training facility, before and after games, in the locker room, on the court and off it. We saw his relationships with teammates, with his coach Chauncey Billups, and with the fans who wear the best-selling jersey in Portland – number 8.
Q: Do you know what they say about you? What they think?
"What do they think about me? Not really. I know I'm a good player and they probably think I play well."
Q: Do you understand that you're a national pride for an entire nation?
"I honestly don't know that. I feel like I'm just doing my job. You're embarrassing me. I don't know how to react, but that's the truth. I'm a person, that's my truth.
"I remember October 7 as if it happened yesterday," he shares. "The events caught me at home (Avdija was playing in Washington at that time), I was almost asleep because it was nighttime here, and then my friend, a fighter in Yahalom, called and told me 'Listen, there's crazy chaos in Israel, I wanted to let you know. A disaster happened, turn on the news.' I go downstairs, turn on the TV, and see everything live when I'm thousands of miles from Israel."
"I'm happy people see me as something beyond basketball because I also feel I'm beyond 'just a basketball player.' I don't share much about myself, don't appear much in front of cameras, but I love influencing people and giving back to the community, and I love Israel, so I'm glad people think that way. I know my mom is proud of me, that my family and friends are proud of me, but... when you say an entire country, it's moving to know that, honestly."
Q: Do you miss Hebrew?
"A little, yes. You know, Portland isn't really an Israeli colony. There are Israelis here, but I haven't really met many and it's a really small number, very few.
"When I get to other arenas in the US, it's crazy. That's where I experience the Hebrew 'madness' and it's fun. I hear Hebrew all the time at games in New York, LA, and elsewhere, the crowd constantly cheers me on. The support I get at away games is insane."
Q: You're currently a basketball star in Israel, a mega-star, but everyone who knows you says you connect with people at eye level. How do you not let it go to your head, especially during this period?
"I don't know. Listen, I hear that, supposedly, when players reach the league, even from the first time they step on the court, their character changes. It's either you have it or you don't. I've been in the league for five years, and I think it's too late for me to change and be like them. I want to look at eye level, and not be arrogant. I can't, that's not me. I was raised differently, my parents raised me to behave in a certain way."
Q: Do you connect more to your Israeli identity? Is it part of your identity in the league?
"I grew up with friends in the neighborhood on a basketball court, so I was always connected to my Israeli identity. It was always part of who I am. Every time I see people or meet friends, I feel I'm Israeli, and also of course I'm a regular person, like them. Has my awareness strengthened? Yes, I can say yes. I really love the country and talk a lot about Israel, also with the guys from the team, and I'm proud of being Israeli.
"For example, I bring them (Portland players) food from my mom's home, sweets from Israel. I bring them gifts for holidays like Christmas, as is customary here, and then I show them the culture I grew up in.
"On the other hand, there are also times when I forget about it. Many times you're at home, and everything around is in English and very American, so after five years in the US you get used to it. It's not simple."
"They are the saviors of the country"
On Simchat Torah 2023, the day of the massacre in the Gaza border communities, Deni found himself going through his most difficult and painful day since arriving in the US.
"I remember October 7 as if it happened yesterday," he shares. "The events caught me at home (Avdija was playing in Washington at that time), I was almost asleep because it was nighttime here, and then my friend, a fighter in Yahalom, called and told me 'Listen, there's crazy chaos in Israel, I wanted to let you know. A disaster happened, turn on the news.' I go downstairs, turn on the TV, and see everything live when I'm thousands of miles from Israel.
"At first I was like everyone else, I didn't understand the magnitude of the event. I saw this Hamas pickup truck in Sderot and you don't really understand, we're not used to such events, it's a once-in-a-generation, once-in-a-lifetime event. I had to go to sleep because there was morning practice the next day, but I couldn't fall asleep, half clutch, how can anyone sleep? My friends from the neighborhood are fighters, who can sleep? The next morning the team gave me rest, meaning I didn't practice. They understood the situation and sent me home. It was a shock for me, unequivocally."
Q: Do you have friends in combat roles?
"I have good friends from childhood in Shayetet 13, in Sayeret Matkal, the most combat there is. Right away I tried to check with each one what's up with him, and what's happening in general. They told me stories when I returned to Israel, in retrospect. Each of them shared what he went through during the battles, crazy stories of life and death."
Q: How do you feel when you hear these fighters, your friends, your generation, the hero generation that people thought was an indifferent generation that only cares about itself?
"I feel small next to the events, very small. I admire my friends, and our soldiers in general, it's an unimaginable sacrifice for the country. When soldiers come here to watch games, for instance delegations of combat shock victims or wounded who come to visit me here – I meet with them and am moved by them, by their deeds, by their courage under fire and by their coping afterward.
"I tell them: Listen, you are more important than me, it's more of an honor for me to meet and talk with you than it is for you to come see me. It moves me a lot because these are people – and I know how important the country is to me, I grew up there, I love returning in summer and enjoying everything we have – without whom we wouldn't have this. They are the saviors of the country."
Q: The hostages – how much do you live with them day to day?
"Wow, I live with them. During the release days I was constantly in front of the TV and it moved me so much. All the survivors who came out of captivity recently moved me, and one of them especially – Omer Shem Tov from Herzliya. He's an amazing guy, we have mutual friends and it was crazy to see him return home – so it's clear that I live with it. I live with all the hostages, all of them without exception. The situation isn't simple, but I try to stay as informed as possible. I'm very connected to everything happening in Israel, unequivocally."
Q: Has it made you different? Is the Israeli flag something different for you now?
"I'm not a person who will constantly engage in advocacy now, or constantly be out there, but I'm of course very, very proud of being Israeli. I also maintain a healthy and good relationship with the team. They tried to understand what happened on October 7."
Q: Did they ask you questions? Was there anyone who was angry at you because you're Israeli, who tried to justify the other side?
"They asked me questions, sure, but mainly from a place of lack of knowledge. They wanted to know, understand, and empathize with what I went through. I don't know if anyone was angry, I didn't encounter such a thing, and with a smile – I don't think anyone has the courage to come and tell me they support the other side, so I don't think so. Even if there are people who thought differently, I don't think they would come and tell me that. You know, I've played with players of many nationalities, but within a team there's no connection to origin."
Q: And at arenas where you've been in the US, have you received boos?
"It hardly or never happened to me at arenas. It happened more on social media, but I didn't look at it. Threats were definitely there. I received threatening messages on social media, but I don't read them. I play in a league that's one of the most watched in the US, they know I'm the only Jewish player in the NBA, so naturally people saw me as a target for their hate arrows toward Israel."
Q: Did the NBA management or Commissioner Adam Silver, who is Jewish, talk to you?
"Adam Silver spoke with me a day or two after October 7. He called and said his heart is with me and the residents of the country, asked if all my close ones are okay and showed genuine touching concern. I didn't expect it, but it was amazing. I had support essentially from the league management, yes. I've also learned to be smart, not just right. That's something I strongly believe in, part of my maturation process here."
"Threats were definitely there. I received threatening messages on social media, but I don't read them. I play in a league that's one of the most watched in the US, they know I'm the only Jewish player in the NBA, so naturally people saw me as a target for their hate arrows toward Israel."
As part of that maturation, Deni is expected to lead the Israeli national team in the upcoming European Championship (EuroBasket), which will take place in August.
Q: How much are you looking forward to this summer, to the Israeli national team, to a locker room that speaks Hebrew?
"Wow, I miss the guys and love the national team very much. It's a privilege to play for the national team, an unequivocal privilege, especially after October 7. To give everything for the country – and we have an excellent group of players. I believe Ben Sherf will reach the NBA, I hope for him next year, and succeed here. He will build himself for this league. I understand he has an excellent mentality.
"I was always connected to the national team, especially after we won gold medals twice in a row at the U20 EuroBasket. In general, it's a meaningful experience to be on the national team, not to mention its leader – Coach Ariel Beit Halachmi. I really love him. He gave me a chance, wasn't afraid of my age, and believed in me. It's a privilege to work with such a person."
"I came to work"
To understand Deni's life, you need to understand where he lives. Oregon state is located at the western edge of the US, immersed in endless green with waterfalls at every corner, ancient forests, and lakes. The enormous Columbia River crosses it, and the Pacific Ocean is to its west. A postcard of paradise.
Portland is a quiet city, whose highlight is the many rose gardens and Nike's world headquarters (a city within itself), with thousands of employees, which is part of the landscape, pride, and character of the city. It's two hours from Seattle, and the Blazers are the westernmost team in the league.
Within this quiet, Deni lives, and he loves and appreciates every moment. His head is only on work and he says that of course people recognize and talk to him, but don't bother him, and he can comfortably sit in a restaurant. The place embraces, and the city is crazy about the basketball team, unites around it.
In the late 80s and early 90s, with the big star Clyde Drexler, the team had good years. It finished with the best records in the league and reached the finals series twice, but lost the first time to Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys" and the second time to the Chicago Bulls, which featured one Michael Jordan.
"I'm not a person who will constantly engage in advocacy now, or constantly be out there, but I'm of course very, very proud of being Israeli. I also maintain a healthy and good relationship with the team. They tried to understand what happened on October 7."
In recent years the team has experienced failures, but in the last season, together with Deni, a huge change has occurred, and as of writing these lines it's fighting for a spot in the "play-in" stage, which could lead to playoff participation – the real deal of the best basketball league in the world. Accordingly, the many empty seats that were in the arena have gradually filled back up, and at the games we attended, the 20,000-seat arena was almost completely full. There's a show in town.
The team is also one of the youngest in the NBA. It doesn't have a superstar, but it has players from several countries and symbolizes freshness and connection that doesn't currently exist in the team sport, which in the US also has a lot of the individual.
At the large training facility located outside the city, in a place where even the word serenity doesn't adequately describe how quiet it is, you see the cohesion and camaraderie of everyone – and Deni is the leader. He isn't crowned as such and didn't take the leadership with noise, but with friendship, with simple daily actions, and with a personality that can contain everyone and still has enough room for itself. The team bond that Deni created was tested both on October 8 and throughout the war.
Q: Portland is not Tel Aviv, it's absolute quiet
"Let's put it this way – many places in the world are not Tel Aviv. It took me time to get used to, but I found a lot in this serenity, a lot of calm. I'm surrounded by amazing scenery, which gives inner peace. Portland is an amazing place for me. You're talking to me about Tel Aviv, a city that never stops, but ultimately I came here to work. Of course I want the sea, the sun, and Israel's weather, but I very much appreciate this place, the nature and the people who embrace and love me. The team is the heart of the city, and I see it everywhere."
Q: Do you feel you're living your dream?
"Maybe I'll surprise you and many others – my dream at the very-very-very beginning was to be a soccer player. I really wanted to be a soccer player. I played basketball for fun, but I didn't think I would be in the Israeli premier league and certainly not in the NBA, and I definitely didn't think there would be all this madness around me.
"Now I can say that I am living the dream, but more than basketball it's life itself. Seeing places, meeting new people, creating friendships, and influencing others. That's actually the dream I'm living right now.
"I feel I'm able to touch the lives of other people, and sometimes I don't even understand how much. For example, something that seems very simple to me, like saying hello to a child, or other small daily things. For me it's not much, but for that child it's something he will never forget. That's a principle I take for life.
"It took me time, also as I grow older, to understand how much small daily actions truly influence – and it doesn't have to be just because I'm a basketball player, it can also be going to the supermarket and telling someone to have a good day, or saying 'I like your shoes and your shirt.' You understand how much influence you have on other people, not just if you're a famous basketball player, but also if you're a person in general – and it's clear that if you're also a public figure, you need to use it well."
The last year, and especially the last two months, cemented Deni's status as a fan favorite, alongside players like Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe, who are also very popular. In the arena you see quite a few jerseys with the number 8 and the name Avdija on the back. Fans we stopped to talk with describe him as the man who changed Portland this year, and mainly there were two words that repeated in everyone we approached – winning mentality and passion.
But it's not just the crowd. The local station broadcaster, who has been broadcasting Portland for 33 years, tells us that "there's something different about him. You see a player who wants to be better and better.
"Deni also interacts with the crowd like a European player – he excites the fans, turns to them during the game to cheer, connected to the city. This isn't taken for granted in a league like the NBA, which lacks emotion in most players, lacks passion, most are egoists. Here, largely thanks to Deni, there's a team, and it's contagious to everyone in the city."
"I brought atmosphere"
After five years in the league, and especially given the huge improvement this season and particularly in the last two months, the question arises whether Deni can make the jump and become a leading player in the NBA. "I think I'm a legitimate player," he says, "like, define legitimate. A player who can play on any team today and also be among its leaders? Unequivocally I think so. You know, here and there, there are teams I fit more and teams I fit less, but yes, I'm legitimate."
Q: Have you gotten used to the situation that you're basically, like most NBA players, a kind of "tradeable"? Because in fact, unlike in Israel, here you're a kind of tool of the club. If they want, you move from Washington to Portland overnight.
"It's something you live with and are aware of. There are things not dependent on me. The thing I do control is being the best on the court. That means training every day, investing in my body. Besides that, what they want to do with me – that's theirs. Life as a player is not an easy routine.
"I don't think what I say can truly reflect to readers what happens behind the scenes of an NBA player. Many people see me on the court, 48 minutes, and that's it. No one knows what happens in between, the flights, a night here and then the next night another game. Everything is relative, but life is different outside the cameras."
Q: I was with you in the team's locker room, and one of the things I saw is that you have a lot of togetherness. There are no stars and you're a cohesive, young team, and no one is above everyone. There's a kind of brotherhood.
"There's no ego here. I mean, clearly there is, but it's positive on the court, not in the locker room. We're almost the youngest team in the league, so there's a kind of brotherhood. I can tell you that when I came the connection between the players was a little more, how do I say it, give me a word..."
Q: Distant? There was less connection? You connected?
"I think I brought in some atmosphere. Also because I come from outside, the only European on the team, Serbian on my dad's side and of course Israeli. I have a different culture. You can see our togetherness on the court, and I think I did bring a kind of spirit to the team. Even people who were quieter got into things and are part of everyone."
Q: And where is your ego? It seems like you don't have an ego.
"No, no, no, no, no. Don't exaggerate. I'm a person, I have an ego. Everyone has an ego. I have nothing to be ashamed of with my ego. But it's in the right place, I put it in place and it erupts when it needs to erupt. This means I still stand my ground, I still don't let people move me right or left too much – I have my way, and on the court I take my ego as much and when I need to."
"A special relationship"
Unlike many other stars, certainly in the NBA, Deni isn't very active on social media, can't connect to the event. In the past he thought about opening a vlog and staying in touch with his fans in Israel, but was unable to do so. His authenticity is who he is, not presenting another "character" that doesn't match his personality.
On the other hand, on the court he allows himself to release emotions, including physical battles and trash talk even with those considered contenders for the GOAT title, the Greatest Of All Time, like LeBron James. The last publicized incident with James happened just a month ago, actually on Instagram. The Israeli posted a picture of himself from a game against the Lakers, in which he's seen dribbling for an attack with James on his knees behind him, and added a small – but meaningful – smiley.
"People make a story and turn it into too much, but this is the NBA," Deni smiles. "What I did to him has been done to him so many times in his career, I'm not the first and not the last who will do this to him. I know that the moment he sees me on the court he knows who I am, because you know – we actually have a pretty good match-up. I give him his respect, he is after all a player's player."
Q: Why don't you post much content on Instagram, or on social media in general?
"I'm not a person who shares a lot. Why? I don't know, I don't like it. Not many Israeli players have played in the NBA and there's a whole audience that's interested in it, but personally, I don't know... it could be that it will change one day and I'll fit jumping into social media. I try to post content occasionally of course, you know, because it's part of life today."
Q: Your mom lives with you here in Portland, she's your enveloping and embracing place.
"Oh, it helps me tremendously that mom is here. I grew up as an only child and most of the time with friends around, and the moment they took me to the US from this environment, where I'm embraced, then my mom is that place. I was very connected to friends in Israel. I grew up alone at home, and what does it mean to grow up alone? That I have no one to argue or play with, so I found people to do that with outside the home. I love my mom more than anything, but sometimes it's hard. I see other friends from the team or in the league with brothers and sisters, and for me it's different."
Q: Do you two get along together in the same house?
"Me and mom? Sure. You know, there's a spacious house, so I have my part of the house, because ultimately I'm a grown child already, and she has her space. She enjoys it here very much, and I enjoy so much that she's here. The bond between us is the best bond there ever was between a mother and son. Sometimes she still sees me a bit as a child, because there's nothing to do, she's a mom, it will always be so."
Q: What, does she say: wake up on time, get up?
"No, I actually wake up fine, I don't have awakening problems. I consult with her about life, about crossroads and decision-making both professionally and in personal life. We have a special relationship."
Q: And your father, former star in the Israeli league Zofer Avdija, does he come to Portland a lot?
"The relationship with him is very good. We don't talk every second, we're not like that. He watches me in every game."
Q: Does he criticize you?
"I'll tell you a funny story. One of the people filmed what was almost my winning score against the New York Knicks, while sitting in the crowd right above my dad. Now, since I was small, all my life, dad always sat in the highest place in the arena and wouldn't react to anything, no matter what happens. He wouldn't talk, wouldn't do anything.
"After I scored the winning point against the Knicks [in fact it wasn't a winning basket – Portland lost in the last second after Deni scored what seemed like an important and prestigious winning basket, but a second before the buzzer the Knicks scored an amazing point that gave them the win], I see in the video my dad with hands in his pockets. I have a basket that at that moment I thought was a winning basket, the whole crowd is going crazy, and my dad is like that, not reacting. A winning basket in the NBA! After the basket I look up, he looks back, and I tell myself of course, he's with hands in his pockets."
Q: Did that disappoint you?
"No, not at all. I'm used to him always sitting furthest away, and not talking about basketball. He never came to any of my practices in my career, but he's an amazing dad, embracing in his ways. Mom is the physical hugger. I unequivocally won with these parents, luckily for me."
"Not a robot"
Regarding his personal life, Deni keeps to himself and isn't an extroverted person, except in one area – he has become a fashion icon, and there are already those who imitate his style of dress.
Q: How do you manage with all this halo, of an NBA star in the city?
"In Portland? I'm very focused on my career. I know I have the summer, a few months after the season, to enjoy and be at home. When I'm in season I'm focused, focused. Of course I'm not a robot, I go out a bit with friends from the team and also alone. I also travel, Oregon is an amazing region to travel in. I'm definitely not sitting at home all day and just basketball-basketball-basketball, that would drive me crazy too."
Q: Do you watch basketball at all outside your games?
"No, no. I watch my games, but I won't sit down and watch Boston against Golden State. It's very hard for me with sports in general, maybe precisely because I'm an athlete. There are many athletes who are addicted to sports, but I, don't know why, actually the opposite. I really love and connect to music. I have different taste and I'm diverse. I love all the old Israeli stuff, Shlomo Artzi, Arik Einstein, Shalom Hanoch, Meir Ariel. There are times I like Mediterranean hits. I have both sides.
"I also have the whole English music thing, for instance if I'm now in treatment, or massage, or brought ice to calm the body – I put on jazz. Yes, I listen to jazz. I don't have a favorite artist, I just type 'jazz music' in the app and connect. In my first years here, and now it's coming back to me a bit, there's also hip hop music, which is very loved by many players in the league."
Q: Do you feel the attitude toward you is different? Is it hard for you? Maybe the best place outside the court is to be with your friends, there you're the same Deni they grew up with?
"I miss my friends, of course, but I've discovered a side of myself that I could never have discovered if I hadn't come here. I managed to get to know myself, to be my own best friend. It's really getting to know yourself deeply. Usually when you're in Israel you're constantly surrounded by people, things to do. Always in action, you don't really have time to connect with yourself, with what you truly love. The moment you're alone it brings out things I wouldn't necessarily bring out in Israel – whether it's painting, or sitting to prepare music I love for myself."
Q: What, you paint? What else do you do?
"Yes, I paint with a brush. Not drawing, brush and oil paints. I also love cars. I have collector's cars together with dad. We both love it very much. He drives collector's cars, he has two, and I also want to buy another one. I get to drive here and I enjoy it, sometimes to a restaurant, sometimes to practice, I really love life.
"In front of the camera I try to maintain formality, aware of myself. I'm a professional basketball player, not neighborhood. But outside the court I'm the most normal person, going to enjoy with friends, eat something, to the beach."
Q: In ten years, when you're approaching retirement, let's say at age 35-36, and more than that – what do you want to be remembered from all this, from this period in your life?
"Wow. That I had a career, had a life, saw, fulfilled. I think I don't want to say I could have been better, but that I gave everything on the court, maximized my potential. In the end, what person doesn't want to maximize the potential and gifts God gave him?
"I don't want to look back at my career and say ah, I decided to take this shot and maybe I would have won this game in a bigger way. I think it's just the knowledge that I gave everything. That's an amazing thing in itself to know that I gave 100% and that nothing changed me, that I remained the same Deni."
"Deni is a better player than I thought, I let him lead the team"
Deni's coach in Portland is Chauncey Billups, a great former player and NBA Hall of Famer, who starred for the Detroit Pistons and won a championship with them in 2004.
Billups, one who has seen everything in basketball, tells us honestly that he didn't expect Deni to become one of the team's stars so quickly. "I didn't know how good Deni was," he smiles. "I knew he was an excellent rebounder and saw he was a wonderful shooter, but not one who scores 30 points per game. He's really better than I thought he would be. His movement with the ball is wonderful. When the ball is in his hand he's excellent, and also without the ball he reads the game excellently.
"He's still learning, and will be even better. His game, his shots, his decisions, everything will improve. He's very mature, and still everything is early for him, and he just keeps improving. I let him lead the team, and I also learn with him and from him.
"Also regarding Deni's support system, we opened the door for his family and his staff. Matan, his agent, joined us for a few trips and we understood the significance of the connection between the organization and the people around the player. My relationship with Matan is not between just another agent and coach, we have a special relationship and I told him that Deni will undoubtedly fulfill his potential.
"Deni is a player who is pleasant to coach. He's serious about the game. Young, but so mature in his game and takes the profession seriously. He's a winner, has no selfishness, a team player – and especially I love that he's a tough player. He plays with his heart and he's talented, knows everything – to score, to penetrate inside, to play strong defense. He has a wonderful personality and it's fun to get to know him as a person and be in his company. Deni is a leader in the team, and I'm crazy about the fact that he plays with fire and full of passion. He's a real leader."
Much more than basketball
The story of Deni Avdija is a combination of uncompromising character, investment and hard work, and a supportive environment
The NBA is a life dream for anyone who holds a basketball in their hand. Few succeed in reaching it, even fewer make an impact. Still, it's one of the most demanding and difficult organizations in sports. 82 games in a season, endless flights and travels, almost every day in a different city. A routine with a halo, ego, respect, and big money, but not simple.
Until a player gets used to the city, the club, the players, one morning he might receive a notice from the employer: "Pack everything, you're moving to a new city tomorrow." For the player it means a new life, and he has to find his place in a new club, under the examining eye of the media and with a fan base thirsty for success, and countless direct and indirect factors to deal with, where the distance between success and failure is minimal.
Avdija arrived from Herzliya to Washington. He gradually adapted to the league, the demands, the club – until one night they told him he was moving to Portland, the capital of Oregon state at the western edge. And despite everything, within less than a year he became the face of the organization. He dealt with the difficulties and didn't drown, but persisted. With stubborn and uncompromising character and with arduous work, movement after movement in endless practices that no one sees, for example in the gym where he gained 29 pounds of muscle mass – everything changed.
After ten months in Portland, Deni is a basketball star, the real deal. Four days closely following him only intensified the feeling that he's not just another star, he's much more than basketball.
And this happens because the greatest thing about the Israeli hasn't changed – the person. Deni Avdija – zero pretentious arrogance, everything natural, without effort. With authentic humanity and genuine modesty he remains Deni from Herzliya, who knows he's a basketball star. With the enveloping parents Sharon and Zofer, and the agents who are much more than agents – Matan Siman Tov and Doug Naushtat – this is a story with a promising beginning, a wonderful middle, and a continuation (knock on wood) that they write about in fairy tales.
