Deni Avdija Addresses Criticism Over Absence from National Team
Deni Avdija has heard the noise. This time, he chose to answer it.
Under fire in Israel for missing recent World Cup qualifying windows, the Portland Trail Blazers forward released a detailed, personal statement explaining why he stayed away from the national team and why, in his eyes, that absence should never be confused with indifference.
“I came when I wasn’t at 100%”
Avdija began by reminding critics of his track record with the national team, painting a picture of a player who has consistently shown up even when common sense said he shouldn’t.
“I usually don’t feel the need to explain myself, but this time it is important to me to say a few words,” he wrote. “Anyone who knows me and my path with the Israeli national team knows what this jersey means to me. I came to the national team when I was in pain. I came when I wasn't at 100%. I came during summers when it might have been most ‘right’ for my personal career to rest. I also came when I was facing a contract year, a period when any injury could change a career. I never looked for an excuse not to come. On the contrary. As long as I could wear the Israeli jersey and step onto the court, I was there.”
Those sentences cut straight to the heart of the debate. Avdija is not a fringe player juggling options; he is a central figure in Israeli basketball, a face of the program. Every absence is magnified. Every decision is dissected.
This summer, that scrutiny reached a new level.
A back injury and a firm veto
The Israeli Basketball Association had already tried to cool speculation when it announced the August roster. The message was clear: Portland had not approved Avdija’s participation. Team manager Motti Daniel had even gone public in July, explaining that the forward was dealing with a back injury and that the NBA franchise had vetoed his involvement.
Avdija backed that up and filled in the emotional gaps.
“This time I wanted to be there just as much,” he wrote. “But this summer I dealt with a complex back injury. An injury that anyone who hasn't experienced it cannot truly understand what it requires. And the decision not to participate in this window was not a decision I made alone. Portland was not willing to take a risk with my health, and in the situation that was created, I simply had no option to go out and play.”
No wiggle room. No quiet workaround. When an NBA club draws a red line over a player’s health, national teams often have to live with it. For Avdija, that meant watching from afar as Israel pushed on without him.
Taking the criticism head‑on
The backlash at home didn’t surprise him. He addressed it directly, without dodging the frustration that comes when a star player is missing in key games.
“I understand disappointment. I understand criticism,” he continued. “When you represent a country and there are expectations of you, that is part of it and I accept it. But one thing I am not willing to let anyone question: My commitment to the national team and my country. I don't need to say how much I care. I think I have proven it time and again through my actions.”
That line — “one thing I am not willing to let anyone question” — is where the statement hardens. Injury explanations can sound like excuses to fans who only see the final score. Avdija’s answer is to point to years of showing up injured, tired, or contract‑vulnerable, and to insist that this absence sits in a completely different category.
Eyes on a return
The message closes not with defensiveness, but with a simple wish.
“There is nothing I want more than to be healthy, return to the court, and wear the Israeli jersey again,” he wrote. “And until then, even when I can't be on the floor, my heart is there.”
For now, his back — and Portland’s medical verdict — dictate the terms. The next time Israel lines up for a major window, the question will be simple: will No. 8 be there to answer the call again, as he has so often promised, or will this summer’s storm linger over the national team’s most prominent name?
