On Wednesday night, the NBA released the latest results of fan voting for the NBA All-Star Game, considered the most prestigious event in world basketball. Fan voting accounts for 50% of the overall selection process.
Ranked seventh among Western Conference guards was Israeli Portland Trail Blazers star Deni Avdija, who has posted outstanding numbers this season, averaging 25.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game.
Avdija has led Portland to repeated victories, establishing himself as the team’s primary scorer and, in many games, its on-court leader.
A total of 606,000 fans voted for Avdija, placing him ahead of global superstars such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant. The result triggered a wave of anger on social media among Arab and pro-Arab users, largely centered on Avdija’s Israeli and Jewish identity.
“These must be IDF bots-there’s no other explanation for these numbers,” one post claimed. Others alleged manipulation linked to US President Donald Trump’s support for Israel, with one user writing, “It’s extremely suspicious that Avdija received more votes than LeBron James.” Another sarcastically commented on X, “These votes were probably promised to him 2,000 years ago.”
Particularly vocal were fans in Turkey.
Beyond the already strained relations between Turkey and Israel, Turkish media and fans directed much of their frustration inward, criticizing the lack of public support for their own NBA representative.
That player is Alperen Şengün, the Houston Rockets center, who received significantly fewer votes than Avdija.
“Social media is furious that Şengün received only half of Avdija’s votes,” Turkish media outlets reported. “The shame is on all of us. Start voting so our representative can be selected first.”
“Israel stands behind its star, while we Turks don’t even bother to open an account,” another commentary read. “Once again, we are a nation of words, not action.”