In first ever clash of 3 Israeli NBA stars, Deni Avdija leads Portland to victory over Brooklyn's Saraf & Wolf

Israeli basketball star Deni Avdija scored 18 points in the Portland Trail Blazers’ 114–95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

Israeli and local Jewish fans had the opportunity to watch as Avdija faced fellow Israeli players Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, in the first-ever game involving three Israelis in the world's premier basketball league.

All-Star Avdija finished the game with an impressive plus-22 rating. Meanwhile, Brooklyn’s 19-year-old American-Israeli talent Wolf delivered a strong performance, scoring 15 points for the home team in the loss.

Saraf only entered the game midway for Brooklyn when Portland had already secured a solid 49-30 lead. Saraf still scored 13 of his 15 points after halftime. 

Despite playing at home, Brooklyn entered the game at a disadvantage because the team’s leading scorer, Michael Porter Jr., was sidelined with an ankle injury. Noah Clowney was also rested.

Yet Brooklyn Nets coach Jordi Fernández noted the historic competition between the three talented Israeli players. 

“Yeah, it’s special,” Fernández said. “When other countries outside the US and Europe can be represented with three players here, it means the world, and it’s a special day that everybody has to enjoy. And I think they are already. …I don’t know Deni, but I’m sure he’s excited to play. I know Ben and Danny are."

“And that’s good. It’s one of the two times that we’ll see this and hopefully for many years, see how these guys grow. Obviously Deni, a career year and how much better he has gotten. And then our two young guys, they’re getting better. And I want to see this matchup over the years and how interesting, how cool it is to see them play against each other,” Fernández assessed.

In addition to its edge on offense, Portland also had a stronger defense, making it difficult for Brooklyn to catch up in the scoring. 

Portland’s victory strengthened the team’s standing. It is currently half a game behind the rival Golden State Warriors for the ninth seed in the Western Conference of the NBA. By contrast, Brooklyn suffered its fourth consecutive loss and dropped a whopping 14 of its last 16 games. 

Avdija is widely considered the most successful basketball player in Israeli sports history. 

In February, he made history by becoming the first Israeli player to be chosen for the prestigious NBA All-Star game.

Avdija, who has gained significant respect in the NBA, was ranked higher than legends like LeBron James in the fan voting. He expressed pride while stressing his humble beginnings in Israel before being transferred to the NBA league. "I'm proud. I remember the journey. I came a long way."

LeBron James faced criticism in February from anti-Israel activists after he praised Avdija and Israel. 

"I said I believe he was an All-Star,” James said in an interview with media outlets. "He’s playing exceptional basketball. So that’s that."

“If I have fans over there – I’ve never been there – I hope you’ve been following my career. I hope I inspire people over there to not only want to be great at sports but be better in general in life. Hopefully someday I could make it over there. Like I said, I’ve never been over there, but I heard nothing but great things,” James said about Israel.