Deni Avdija wanted to play for Israel in FIBA World Cup qualifying this summer. The Trail Blazers said no, and Avdija made clear this week that the decision was not his.
“Portland wasn’t willing to take a risk with my health, and in the situation that arose, I simply didn’t have the option to step up and play,” Avdija said in comments posted to social media on Aug. 31. He went further in describing the injury behind the decision: “This time I dealt with a complex back injury. An injury that those who haven’t gone through it really can’t understand what it demands.”