{"id":549281,"date":"2026-01-20T17:48:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T17:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/549281\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T17:48:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T17:48:16","slug":"deni-avdija-shines-in-return-for-trail-blazers-but-misses-out-on-all-star-starter-selection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/549281\/","title":{"rendered":"Deni Avdija shines in return for Trail Blazers but misses out on All-Star starter selection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deni Avdija made an emphatic return for the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a>, scoring 30 points with eight rebounds and eight assists in a win over the Sacramento Kings \u2014 yet his breakout campaign still wasn\u2019t enough to earn him a starting spot in the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.<\/p>\n

Avdija returns and dominates in win over Kings<\/p>\n

After missing a week through injury, Avdija returned to the lineup<\/a> and immediately took control of the game, leading Portland to a 117-110 victory. His 30-point, eight-rebound, eight-assist performance marked one of his most complete outings of the season, reflecting the confidence he\u2019s built during a career-best year. Acting head coach Tiago Splitter praised his performance, saying, \u201cNot bad for a guy that was out for like a week.\u201d The Trail Blazers have now won 10 of their last 13 games, improving to 22-22 on the season.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAll-Star snub despite breakout year<\/p>\n

Avdija\u2019s strong form has made him one of the league\u2019s most productive forwards, averaging 26.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 6.9 assists<\/a> this season. However, when the NBA announced the All-Star starters on January 19, his name was not among them. He finished fifth in fan voting, according to NBA.com<\/a>, and fell short of being selected as one of the five Western Conference starters. Despite that setback, Avdija reportedly still has a strong chance to become the first Israeli player to make the All-Star team through the coaches\u2019 vote.<\/p>\n

Team effort supporting Avdija\u2019s resurgence<\/p>\n

Avdija\u2019s return came alongside another impressive showing from Portland\u2019s young core. Rookie center Donovan Clingan posted 21 points and 17 rebounds<\/a>, while Shaedon Sharpe added 27 points and seven boards. The team\u2019s improved chemistry under Splitter\u2019s leadership has sparked optimism that the Blazers could climb the Western Conference standings during the second half of the season. For Avdija, that surge has strengthened his All-Star case and reinforced his emergence as a legitimate franchise cornerstone.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat comes next for Avdija<\/p>\n

The All-Star reserves will be chosen by NBA coaches in the coming week, and Avdija\u2019s performance has positioned him firmly in contention. His mix of scoring, rebounding, and playmaking has made him one of the most complete forwards in the Western Conference this season. As Portland continues its push toward a winning record, Avdija\u2019s rise is becoming one of the most encouraging stories of the Blazers\u2019 campaign. The next milestone could be official recognition as an NBA All-Star \u2014 a moment that would cap the finest stretch of his professional career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Deni Avdija made an emphatic return for the Portland Trail Blazers, scoring 30 points with eight rebounds and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549282,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3784],"tags":[7,601,6,687,471,3967,1617],"class_list":{"0":"post-549281","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-portland-trail-blazers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-blazers","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-portland","12":"tag-portland-trail-blazers","13":"tag-portlandtrailblazers","14":"tag-trail-blazers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115928688546076742","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}