Deni Avdija spoke on Israel’s Channel 12 program "Ulpan Shishi" with Danny Kushmaro and publicly described, for the first time, the details of the severe accident he suffered during the season. The crash later led to a lingering injury that worried the Portland Trail Blazers and raised questions about his eligibility for end-of-season awards.
Local reaction in Portland was swift. Mike Richman, speaking on the "Locked On Blazers" podcast, criticized the way the media handled the story, saying, "The Portland media, including me, covered it poorly. We did a bad job, no local outlet knew about it." He said the incident was initially reported only as a minor car accident, but should have been treated as much more significant.
Richman added that Avdija was injured, then played, and was hurt again later in a game. He said Avdija is not the kind of player who would volunteer, "This is how I got hurt," which meant this was the first clear explanation of what actually happened. "It sounds like it was more frightening and serious than we thought," he said.
Richman also criticized Portland, saying this is the second straight season a Blazers player has been involved in a car accident and the club did not issue public information. He said it is unclear what Avdija told the medical staff, whether he downplayed the severity, and whether the team only knew what he reported before the problem worsened. Richman added that anyone who has been in a car accident knows it can affect the body for a long time, and said that if Avdija stays focused on basketball and avoids off-court scares, the issue should not linger once he is fully recovered.
