Less than 24 hours have passed since Deni Avdija returned to the court for Portland, scoring 30 points in a win over the Sacramento Kings.
On Monday evening, Avdija-like basketball fans in Israel and around the world-learned that despite his exceptional performances since the start of the season and the extensive campaign held in his honor in Israel, he will not make history as the first Israeli player ever selected to start in the prestigious NBA All-Star Game.
Avdija finished seventh in the fan vote. He could still be selected for the NBA’s most prestigious event by the coaches, but that route is no less challenging: five of the eight international spots are already occupied by European players who were chosen to one of the two All-Star starting lineups-the Eastern and Western Conferences.
In fact, the fan selections for the All-Star lineups were not particularly surprising. The Eastern Conference starters are Cade Cunningham, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was chosen for the All-Star Game for the tenth time, matching NBA greats such as Jason Kidd and John Stockton.
In the Western Conference, where Avdija was a candidate, the starters selected were today’s biggest stars: Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephen Curry, and Victor Wembanyama.
According to assessments, Wembanyama’s selection was decided by the narrowest of margins, as he was chosen ahead of Anthony Edwards, with Avdija next in line.
In addition to Avdija, another notable omission from the starting lineups is one of the greatest NBA players of all time, LeBron James. This marks the first time since the 2003/04 season that James has not been named to the All-Star starting five.
Will Avdija manage to get in at the last moment and make history after all? We can only hope so.