Deni Avdija is doing the impossible. Portland’s star has been one of the NBA’s best players this year, averaging 25.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, leading Portland to the play-in—just one or two wins away from the playoffs. An entire nation wakes up every morning to see what Avdija does on the court and how he makes us happy, and now it’s time for us to give back.
Click here to vote Avdija to the All-Star Game
The NBA officially opened voting today (Tuesday) for the 2026 All-Star Game, which will be held in Los Angeles. Fans can select five starters in the East and five in the West. Accordingly, we at Channel Sport launched a campaign calling on everyone to vote Avdija to the All-Star Game and make him the first Israeli ever to play in one of the biggest games of the season.
Every year, the various All-Star events generate billions of views in total, and the game attracts journalists from around the world and viewers from every corner of the globe—viewers who will be able to see the beautiful Israel, the Israel of Avdija. A fearless country, excellent in its field, unafraid to go all the way to the rim and lead to victories.
Voting will last about a month, from December 17 to January 14, with fan voting accounting for 50% of the starter vote. Another 25% comes from the players and 25% from the media. Fan voting is also significant in the case of "replacement” players—those called up to take the place of injured players in the game itself. Traditionally, the replacements are the players with the highest vote totals. In other words, even if you don’t think Avdija should start, your vote can significantly help get him into the game.
This year’s game will be held in a three-team format, similar to last year, with eight players on each team. There will be eight international players and 16 Americans, with 12 players initially selected from the East and West. After that, the NBA will "fill in” additional players if needed, based on fan votes. So again, voting matters.
How do you do it?
Go to the website via the link above, or again here.
Choose five players from the East and five from the West.
Click Send.
The main competition
As noted, Avdija will be one of the eight international players, and in all likelihood there are six players who are considered locks if healthy: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Dončić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokić, and Alperen Şengün. Avdija is expected to compete for the final two spots with Australia’s Josh Giddey (Chicago), Finland’s Lauri Markkanen (Utah), and the Knicks’ Dominican big man Karl-Anthony Towns. Of course, it’s not far-fetched that Avdija could get in as one of the West’s 12 players, and not as an additional international player.
