From Israel To An NBA All-Star: Developing Deni Avdija

The world has watched Portland Trail Blazers forward, Deni Avdija, blossom into one of the top players in the league this season. His former youth basketball coach with Maccabi Tel Aviv saw him coming all along.

Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) is introduced before the game against the Phoenix Suns at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images / Soobum Im-Imagn Images

When the reserve players for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game are announced on Sunday, February 1, it is inevitable that Deni Avdija of the Portland Trail Blazers will hear his name called as an NBA All-Star selection for the first time in his six-year career. 

The Voice of the Fans

The fans have already spoken with Deni receiving over 2.2 million votes, ranking him fifth among Western Conference players in fan voting in a season where he’s averaging a career high 26 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game. One of those fan votes came all the way from Italy courtesy of Umana Reyer Venezia’s assistant basketball coach, Veljko Perovic.

For Coach Perovic, a former professional player turned skills and development coach, the vote was more than another online ballot cast for the 75th NBA All-Star Game. It was an act filled with love, respect, and a deeply rooted appreciation for his time spent teaching and coaching Deni during his impressionable teenage years with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel. There, he watched Deni win the Cadet Cup, become a cornerstone of the Israeli Cadet National team, and capture the Israeli Cadet State Championship. 

Coach Veljko Perovic Shaped Avdija Aways from the Court

What people didn’t see was the tireless hours Coach Perovic spent away from the court shaping and molding a raw Deni into the refined forward and leader he has become today. 

“The biggest accomplishment he made that year was understanding that his talent at all times must be followed by a great desire to prepare, develop, compete, and win,” Coach Perovic told High School on SI about Deni’s maturation from Beit Zera, Israel to an NBA All-Star in the making. 

“He really was forged in fire and tested at all levels.”

Over the weekend, Coach Veljko Perovic kindly caught-up with High School on SI to discuss his personal experiences training Deni Avdija in youth basketball with Maccabi Tel Aviv, implementing strength and conditioning sessions to help him grow, how Deni has become an understandable inspiration for all of Israel, and watching him fully bloom into one of the top 15 players in the league in 2025-26. 

At the U16 European Championship in 2017, Deni Avdija (right) emerged as a must-see basketball player and MVP for both the Israel National Team and Maccabi Tel Aviv. / FIBA/Twitter

Q&A with Veljko Perovic

What do you remember the most about first meeting and working with Deni Avdija as a kid growing up in Israel?

The first time I saw Deni he was playing for the Maccabi Tel Aviv U13 team. He was a late bloomer surrounded with kids that had accelerated growth and development. He was taller than all the rest, but the other kids were quicker and tougher at the time. One thing that one could notice immediately is that he had great basketball instincts from an early age. He had a feel for timing and court space. He was grabbing the ball like a tiger. Also back then, he was a half meter over everyone else. He was always trying to get the ball ahead to open kids, looking to pass first. After he would slowly run across the court, and if no one scored, the ball would reach him once again at mid court. He would then again try to make a play for himself or others, always keeping everyone involved.

When it came to Deni’s development as a young basketball player, where did you start? Did the teaching extend beyond the court?

Next season on top of my obligations with Maccabi’s first team, I was making pre-school practices for him and his team. We did only physical aspects for one hour, three times a week. Pure body shaping as we call it in countries of the former Yugoslavia. At the time he was coming out of the locker room, walking on top of his fingers, and falling forward. He was going all over the place, forces of nature were pulling him in eight different directions. I knew he needed three years to clean up his body posture and his running technique so he could become one with the ball.

The next season he was a cadet of Maccabi. Oded Shalom (Deni’s U-16 Maccabi Tel Aviv coach) pushed me to work with the team three times a week and to commit to Deni every day.  Deni had accelerated growth at the time, so his core muscles were very weak. We put him on the side. And from that time for about 3-4 months he lived on the mat. Core strengthening, stretching, running technique all away from the ball. Working on body posture, head posture, and basic gymnastics. We worked from 6:30-8:00 every morning and afternoon at the time of cadet team practice. I didn’t give him the ball until he would conquer his body completely. I wanted him to have the maximum sense and feel of it.

After months of hard work in February 2017, he was brought back to the group, and from that moment he was unstoppable. He immediately won the Cadet Cup of Israel, was MVP of the prestigious tournament in Serbia, and became a cornerstone of the Israeli Cadet National team. That May he won the Israeli Cadet State Championship. That summer there was his first U16 European Championship where he brought all the attention to himself. He was the leader of the competition in assists and rebounds. But the biggest accomplishment he made that year was understanding that his talent at all times must be followed by a great desire to prepare, develop, compete and win. This understanding pushed him to where he is now.

Before leaving Europe for the NBA, Deni collected hardware along the way through hard work and a tireless work ethic. / Deni Avdija/Instagram

Even as a kid, what was his work ethic and approach to basketball?

All this journey was accompanied by his readiness to work hard. The most important thing is to make a talented kid buy in. And for him it was the realization that he is getting better daily. For mental winners it doesn’t matter if the practice started at 6:30 AM or 10:00 PM, and for him it didn’t matter. I just said time and place and he executed. I must say that at home he had a father who was a great player in the former Yugoslavia. He won a bronze medal in the World Championship in 1983. His mother was a great athlete too. So they knew what was the way to reach your full potential. They never interfered. We talked maybe a few times in all the years when he was in Maccabi. For me it was a sign of trust and it meant a lot.

From February 2017 to November 2020, all the time we dedicated to clean body posture and head posture so he could have superior perceptional speed that gave him the ability to anticipate mistakes in position and the reaction of the opponent. All of the times he was focused on technical-tactical perfection that was determined by the way we practiced. Our goal was for him to have answers for all the mismatches and make him outperform bigger, stronger, smaller, faster, more aggressive players. For the first two years he never missed an early session or individual workout in his school. We were alone in the gym, working in silence, and focused on growth. After he would do weight lifting, and then we had team practice in the evening. After that we would stay to shoot or he would play one-on-one against Johnny O’Bryant, DeAndre Kane, and Jeremy Pargo. The following season we added a shooting session in the school gym next to his house with 200 made threes with form shooting. We would come out of the gym in 45 minutes.

‘He who works hard can not lose easily.’ In all this period he won one Cadet and two Junior Championships of Israel. One High School Championship of Israel, two European U20 Championships and two Championships with Maccabi’s first team. He was named the MVP of most of these events including the MVP of Europe and World Basketball Without Borders. So he really was forged in fire and tested at all levels. The most difficult thing was to make him understand that when you achieve something tomorrow you must reinvent yourself once again. 

Abilities are easily lost. You must decline the awards of winners and accept humility as your guidance. Stay with two feet on the ground and push yourself forward non-stop. 

The draft night came and again he needed to go from scratch. Nothing was given to him. Nothing was handed to him. It was one more opportunity to go through the process all over again, until someone will again recognize what he can do at the top of his abilities.

Always A Coach: Veljko Perovic cherishes the opportunity to see Deni Avdija grow from a kid in Israel and into an NBA All-Star candidate this season in Portland. / Deni Avdija/Facebook

As a Coach, when did you recognize that he could be destined for the NBA?

As he was developing daily, he was so talented that at one moment it was hard to reinvent myself as a coach. I needed to push myself to stay one step in front of him at all times. 

The second sign was the way he was accepted by the senior (older) players in a professional environment. He was an integral part  of the first team already at the age of 17. He gained their trust very soon. They saw him as a person that will help them achieve mutual goals in a winning and driven environment. He also had and has a natural charm around people. He is lovable as a person and people like being in his company. This is also a very important sign. The path to the NBA was revealing itself naturally as the time passed.

Deni means so much to Israel, both as a professional basketball player and a person? How do you feel he’s been able to manage the spotlight, particularly with the tragedies that have taken place in Israel?

I definitely think that for basketball in Israel he will be the motor engine that will promote basketball excellence in the next 20 years. He is becoming a role model that every country needs. I think a lot of kids wake up in the morning with their first wish to see how he did that night in the NBA. He should inspire everyone that they can become successful if they dedicate themselves fully to the things they love, the things they are talented at, and the things they are passionate for.

Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) goes up for a shot against Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) and guard Derrick White (9) during the second half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images / Soobum Im-Imagn Images

Looking back on your time teaching and coaching Deni, how did he make you a better coach?

The time you work and the results are never the same in sports. Doing something today probably means the result will come in a few years. There was a time when maybe for six months one day he would look amazing on the court. The second day he would look the opposite of good. Old habits would interfere. I was coming to General Manager Nikola Vujcic one day hyped, the second day I was down. He was always reassuring me that this is all normal, to be patient and have the belief that everything will come together. Eventually, everything was falling into place. The process that I witnessed made me become more stable, grounded in the understanding that for everything in life to succeed you need time, a good environment, and to create a good atmosphere. 

If selected Deni would be the first Israeli to become an NBA All-Star. Did you place a fan vote this season? And what has it been like for you to watch his overall growth in the league from Washington to now in Portland?

Yes, of course I placed a fan vote! Who will push him if I don't do it first? We have this saying, ‘If they are Rosses they will Blossom’. The first two years I was in Washington with him after I continued my professional journey in Europe. I was curious how everything would develop with me being far away. He had so much more to show and frustration was building. But just like Nikola Vujcic told me back then. All he needs is patience, a good environment and atmosphere around him. If you don’t make it somewhere, don’t think it is because you are not good. It’s probably that the atmosphere was not good enough for you to open up your full potential. The Trail Blazers gave him all he needed: a center stage to perform. This growth so far to me means everything. To every father, teacher, mentor and coach, I wish them to be proud as I am today.