Portland Path Blazers ahead Deni Avdija missed his first sport together with his new staff on Yom Kippur, saying his priorities modified after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault on his native Israel.
“Tomorrow, on the eve of Yom Kippur, would be the first pre-season match of the season. When administration knowledgeable me, I knew instantly that I might not take part. I feel one of the best ways to start out the season is to honor Jewish custom and stand united with my fellow Jews in Israel and around the globe,” Avdija posted in an Instagram story on Thursday.
“Basketball has at all times been on the coronary heart of my life, and it has at all times been my prime precedence. Nonetheless, after the previous yr, I spotted that there are extra necessary issues than basketball,” Avdija added. “I’m Yisrael Chai. I want everybody a contented registration and sealing.
Avdija, 23, is the one Israeli participant within the NBA. The Washington Wizards traded him to the Path Blazers over the summer season, shortly after signing him to a four-year, $65 million contract. Born to a Jewish Israeli mom and a Muslim father who immigrated to Israel from Yugoslavia to play basketball, Avdija grew up in Kibbutz Beit Zera, a village within the Jordan Valley that each housed evacuees from the Gaza border since October 7 and which is going through a safety disaster of its personal.
The query of whether or not Jewish athletes and different celebrities have fun Yom Kippur has lengthy been of eager curiosity to American Jews, as evidenced by the practically 70 years of reverence for Sandy Koufax, the Los Angeles Dodger who didn’t take part within the first sport of the 1965 World Collection (and should have attended the Minnesota synagogue as an alternative).
Not like Koufax, Avdija’s match had little significance: it was a preparatory match with no lasting impact on his staff’s place. Nonetheless, his presence might have modified the ultimate rating, because the Path Blazers misplaced the match in opposition to the LA Clippers by two factors. (Portland beat the Sacramento Kings by 20 factors on Sunday; Avdija, who performed 20 minutes, scored 5.)
