Courtesy of JTA. Photo credit: Getty Images
L-R: Domantas Sabonis, Deni Avdija and Amari Bailey
(JTA) — When the NBA season tips off on Tuesday, there will be three Jewish players taking the court — the same trio who were in the league last year — though one is still finding out where he will be playing.
Two of those players — Deni Avdija and Amari Bailey — have changed uniforms, while All-Star Domantas Sabonis is entering his fourth season with the Sacramento Kings.
Meanwhile, Ryan Turell, who played in the minor G League last season, and Abby Meyers, who appeared in nine WNBA games in 2023, are both playing professionally in Israel this season.
Read on for more about the Jewish NBA players to watch as the season begins next week.
Deni Avdija, Portland Trail Blazers forward
After a career year with the Washington Wizards, 23-year-old Deni Avdija is entering his fifth season in the NBA and his first with the Portland Trail Blazers. Avdija, the only Israeli in the league, was traded to Portland over the summer. Before last season, he had signed a four-year, $55 million contract extension with the Wizards.
Avdija, a native of Beit Zera in northern Israel, was drafted No. 9 overall by the Wizards in 2020, the earliest an Israeli has been selected in the NBA Draft. Avdija averaged 14.7 points per game last season with 7.2 rebounds and a field goal percentage of 51% — all career highs. Avdija, who started 75 games for the Wizards, finished sixth for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.
Since he broke into the league, the small forward has been among the more vocal Jewish athletes across American professional sports. During a previous bout of violence in Israel, Avdija wrote “Am Yisrael Chai” (“the Jewish people live”) and drew Stars of David on his sneakers. He also celebrated Hanukkah with his teammates and spoke at the team’s Jewish Heritage Night.
This month, as his Trail Blazers prepared for their preseason opener, Avdija decided to sit out the game because it fell on Yom Kippur. He attributed the decision to a change in his outlook over the past year, following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
“Tomorrow, on the eve of Yom Kippur, the first pre-season game of the season will take place. When the management informed me, I knew right away that I would not participate. I feel that the best way to start the season is by honoring Jewish tradition and standing united with my fellow Jews in Israel and around the world,” Avdija posted on an Instagram story.
“Basketball has been a central part of my life for as long as I can remember, and it’s always been my top priority. However, after the past year, I’ve realized there are more important things than basketball,” Avdija added. “Am Yisrael Chai. Wishing everyone a good inscription and sealing.”
Amari Bailey, point guard
After making his NBA debut last season with the Charlotte Hornets, 20-year-old guard Amari Bailey signed a contract with the Brooklyn Nets this offseason.
Bailey was drafted 41st overall by the Hornets last year and appeared in 10 games with the team, spending most of the season with Charlotte’s G-League affiliate. Bailey had been competing for a spot on the Nets’ roster heading into the season but was waived on Oct. 19 after the final preseason game. He is a likely candidate to join the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate.
Born in New Orleans and raised in Chicago, Bailey moved to California to play basketball at Sierra Canyon High School, a prestigious Los Angeles private school. He was then recruited to play at the storied University of California, Los Angeles, where he was named to the Pac-12’s All-Freshman team.
Bailey’s mother, an influencer who is known to her 319,000 Instagram followers as Johanna Leia (surname Edelberg), is Jewish. Bailey himself personally identifies as Jewish, his agent Bernie Lee confirmed to the Forward.
Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings center
Entering his ninth NBA season, Domantas Sabonis, a center and power forward, has cemented himself as one of the premier players in the league. The 28-year-old, who is listed at a towering 6-foot-10, is a three-time All-Star who has finished in the top 10 in MVP voting and was named to the All-NBA Third Team in each of the past two seasons.
Sabonis, who is in the process of converting to Judaism, averaged 19.4 points and 13.7 rebounds per game last season, leading the league in the latter. Sabonis’ 8.2 assists per game ranked sixth in the NBA and his field goal percentage of 59% ranked ninth. He played all 82 games for the Kings.
Sabonis, who was born in Portland to Lithuanian parents, has been studying with Los Angeles rabbi Erez Sherman and has been involved with the local chapter of the Chabad Hasidic movement in Sacramento. Sabonis has also been keeping kosher and celebrating Shabbat, Passover and other Jewish holidays.
“He loves [Judaism] and really wants to be a part of it,” Sabonis’ wife Shashana Sabonis (née Rosen) said last year. Shashana grew up in Los Angeles, where she attended Jewish day schools. The couple was married by a Reform rabbi in August 2021.
