PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Deni Avdija's breakout season earned him an All-Star nod.
The Portland Trail Blazers forward was named as a Western Conference reserve on Sunday night. He was among 14 reserves announced for the All-Star showcase on Feb. 15 in Inglewood, California.
Avdija is the first Israeli to be named an NBA All-Star. The 25-year-old was born in Beit Zera, a kibbutz on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Nicknamed “Turbo,” Avdija is averaging career bests of 25.5 points and 6.7 assists along with 7.2 rebounds in 44 games. He's one of three players averaging at least 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists, joining Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic.
“Proud of him. I know he cares about this team,” Blazers coach Tiago Splitter said. “When you see a person like that succeeding, it’s truly special.”
The 6-foot-8 Avdija has three triple-doubles this season. He has reached double figures in assists nine times and scored 20 or more points 35 times.
Shooting 46.7% from the field, Avdija has helped steady the rebuilding Blazers through a series of injures. Portland was 23-26 and in ninth in the Western Conference heading into Sunday's game against Cleveland.
Avdija was sidelined by a sore back against the Cavaliers, the sixth game he's missed in the past 10.
He’s the 17th player in Blazers history to be named an All-Star and the first since Damian Lillard in 2023.
Avdija is in his second season with the Blazers after spending his first four years with the Washington Wizards, who drafted him in the first round in 2020.
This season’s All-Star showcase has a tournament format — U.S. vs. the World, with three teams of at least eight players playing 12-minute games in a round-robin format. The top two teams will meet for the championship.
Avdija is set to join Doncic, Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama, among others, on the World team.
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Portland Trail Blazers' Deni Avdija (8) looks to pass during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday he will move to close Washington’s Kennedy Center performing arts center for two years starting in July for construction, his latest proposal to upturn the storied venue since returning to the White House.
Trump’s announcement on social media follows a wave of cancellations by leading performers, musicians and groups since the president ousted the previous leadership and added his name to the building. Trump made no mention in his post of the recent cancellations.
His proposal, announced days after the premiere of “Melania, " a documentary of the first lady was shown at the center, he said was subject to approval by the board of the Kennedy Center, which has been stocked with his hand-picked allies. Trump himself chairs the center’s board of trustees.
“This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment,” Trump wrote in his post.
Neither Trump nor Kennedy Center President Ric Grenell, a Trump ally, have provided evidence to back up their claims about the building being in disrepair, and last October, Trump had pledged the center would remain open during renovations. In Sunday's announcement, Trump said the center will close on July 4th, when he said the construction would begin.
“Our goal has always been to not only save and permanently preserve the Center, but to make it the finest Arts Institution in the world,” Grenell said in a post, citing funds Congress approved for repairs.
“This will be a brief closure,” Grenell said. “It desperately needs this renovation and temporarily closing the Center just makes sense - it will enable us to better invest our resources, think bigger and make the historic renovations more comprehensive. It also means we will be finished faster."
The sudden decision to shutter and reconstruct the Kennedy Center is certain to spark blowback as Trump upturns the popular venue, which began as a national cultural center but Congress renamed as a “living memorial” to President John F. Kennedy in 1964, in the aftermath of the slain president's death. Opened in 1971, it is open year-round as a public showcase for the arts, including the National Symphony Orchestra.
Since Trump returned to the White House, the Kennedy Center is one of many Washington landmarks that he has sought to overhaul in his second term. He demolished the East Wing of the White House and launched a massive $400 million ballroom project, is actively pursuing building a triumphal arch on the other side the Arlington Bridge from the the Lincoln Memorial, and has plans for Washington Dulles International Airport.
Leading performing arts groups have pulled out of appearances at the Kennedy Center, most recently, composer Philip Glass, who announced his decision to withdraw his Symphony No. 15 “Lincoln” because he said the values of the center today are in “direct conflict” with the message of the piece.
Last month, the Washington National Opera announced that it will move performances away from the Kennedy Center in another high-profile departure following Trump’s takeover of the U.S. capital’s leading performing arts venue.
The head of artistic programming for the center abruptly left his post last week, less than two weeks after being named to the job.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center could not immediately be reached and did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Late last year, as Trump announced his plan to rename the building — erecting his name on the building's main front ahead of that of Kennedy — he drew sharp opposition from members of Congress, and some Kennedy family members.
Kerry Kennedy, a niece of John F. Kennedy, said in a social post on X at the time that she will remove Trump’s name herself with a pickax when his term ends.
Another family member, Maria Shriver, said at the time that it is “beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy,” her uncle. “It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.”
Late Sunday evening, Shriver posted a new comment mimicking Trump's own voice and style, and suggesting the closure of the venue was meant to deflect from the cancellations.
She said that “entertainers are canceling left and right” and the president has determined that "since the name change no one wants to perform there any longer."
Trump has decided, she said, it's best “to close this center down and rebuild a new center” that will bear his name. She asked, “right?”
One lawmaker, Rep. Joyce Beatty, the Ohio Democrat and ex-officio trustee of the center's board, sued in December, arguing that “only Congress has the authority to rename the Kennedy Center.”
Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
First lady Melania Trump walks from the stage after speaking before the premiere of her movie "Melania" at The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., after returning from a trip to Florida. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
