Portland’s Deni Avdija Did A Lot More Than Shoot Free Throws to Beat the Suns

Avdija and Devin Booker both shot 13 free throws.

Deni Avdija did more than shoot free throws in a win over the Suns. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Trail Blazers beat the Suns on Tuesday to earn their spot in the Western Conference playoffs. Portland will now face the Spurs in the first round.

The main reason the Trail Blazers won last night—and the main reason they're in the playoffs at all—is Deni Avdija, who has been unlocked and unleashed under first-year head coach Thiago Splitter. Avdija scored 41 points to go along with 12 assists and seven rebounds. He made 15-of-22 field goal attempts and 8-of-13 free throws against the Suns.

To the surprise of no one, Avdija's high free throw total was a topic of conversation for the Suns after the game. Suns guard Jalen Green said, "They gotta call that both ways if they're going to call it for one person all night. That's my opinion."

Meanwhile, coach Jordan Ott was a little more tactful and subtle while bringing up Avdija's free throw shooting.

Jordan Ott on defending Trail Blazers' All-Star Deni Avdija with physicality tonight:

"Be careful, because we know he gets to the free throw line." pic.twitter.com/6Z82HWM4wh

— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) April 15, 2026

"You've gotta play with enough physicality to keep him out of the paint," said Ott. "But be careful. Because we know he gets to the free throw line."

It is true. Avdija did get to the free throw line. He shot 13 during the win, which is more than the 9.2 he averaged during the regular season. So it makes sense that the Suns might be a little frustrated by that detail.

Except Devin Booker, who averaged 8.1 free throws a game during the regular season, also shot 13 last night. And overall the Suns actually shot nine more free throws as a team as the Blazers were called for three more fouls during the contest.

To Booker's credit, he didn't say a word about Avdija getting to the line during his postgame interview. Asked why the Suns lost he pointed to the team's defense, Avdija making plays and the fact that he himself missed five free throws in a four-point loss.

“Me missing 5 free throws.”

Book details what went wrong for the Suns tonight. pic.twitter.com/MpIYT0bHTJ

— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) April 15, 2026

During the Trail Blazers' fourth-quarter comeback, Avdija shot six free throws and one of those attempts was the result of a technical foul on Dillon Brooks. The All-Star scored 14 points in the fourth and dished out three assists. It was a tremendous performance and anyone complaining about free throws after looking at that box score needs to recalibrate their expectations.

There's just something about free throw shooting that makes people lose their minds. Players like Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Avdija shoot a lot of free throws. It says a lot about Avdija's status in the league that it's part of his reputation as a player. When Victor Wembanyama was asked about Avdija during All-Star weekend the first thing that came to his mind was the free throw shooting.

#NBA - When asked about Israeli Deni Avdija, Victor Wembanyama:

"Takes a lot of freethrows." pic.twitter.com/JAqT34s7fw

— Antifa_Ultras (@ultras_antifaa) February 17, 2026

"Takes a lot of free throws," said Wemby. He also added that his advice against Avdija would be "to defend without fouling."

That will be the Spurs' goal starting Sunday. The Trail Blazers averaged the ninth most free throws a game during the regular season, just 0.6 more per game than the Spurs. Against a veteran No. 2 seed that wouldn't be a problem, but with the Spurs having so many young key players making their first trip to the postseason, they'd be wise not to let a few free throws get to their heads.

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