The Jewish NBA players to watch as the 2024-2025 season begins

When the NBA season begins Tuesday, there will be three Jewish players on the court – the same trio that played in the league last year.

Two of these players – Deni Avdija And Amari Bailey – changed uniforms during All-Star Domantas Sabonis is entering his fourth season with the Sacramento Kings.

In the meantime, Ryan Turellwho played in the Minor G League last season, and Abby Meyerswho appeared in nine WNBA games in 2023, are both playing professionally in Israel this season.

Read on to learn 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 years 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 transferred to Portland in the summer. Before last season, he 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 with 7.2 rebounds and a 51% field goal percentage last season, all career highs. Avdija, who started 75 games for the Wizards, finished sixth in the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.

Since entering the league, the small forward has been one of the most vocal Jewish athletes in all of American professional sports. During an earlier bout of violence in Israel, Avdija wrote “Am Yisrael Chai” (“The Jewish people are alive”) and painted Stars of David on his sneakers. He also celebrated Hanukkah with his teammates and spoke to the team Jewish Heritage Night.

As his Trail Blazers prepared for the season opener this month, Avdija decided to sit out the game because it fell on Yom Kippur. He attributed the decision to a change in his attitude last year after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

“Tomorrow, on the eve of Yom Kippur, the first preparatory game of the season will take place. When management informed me of this, I knew immediately that I would not be taking part. I believe that the best way to start the season is to honor Jewish tradition and be united with my fellow Jewish brothers in Israel and around the world,” Avdija wrote in an Instagram Story.

“Basketball has been a central part of my life for as long as I can remember and has always been my top priority. But after last year, I realized that there are more important things than basketball,” Avdija added. “Am Yisrael Chai. I wish everyone good labeling and sealing.”

Amari Bailey, Brooklyn Nets point guard

The 20-year-old guard made his NBA debut last season with the Charlotte Hornets Amari Bailey signed a contract with the Brooklyn Nets this season.

Bailey was drafted 41st overall by the Hornets last year and played 10 games for the team, spending most of the season with Charlotte’s G League affiliate. Bailey is now competing for a spot on the Nets’ roster and could spend more time in the minors this season.

Bailey was born in New Orleans and grew up in Chicago. He moved to California to play basketball at Sierra Canyon High School, a prestigious private school in Los Angeles. He was then recruited to play at the venerable University of California, Los Angeles, where he was named to the Pac-12’s All-Freshman team.

Bailey’s mother, an influencer known to her 319,000 Instagram followers as Johanna Leia (surname Edelberg), is Jewish. Bailey personally identifies as Jewish, his agent Bernie Lee confirmed to the Forward.

Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings center

At the start of his ninth NBA season Domantas Sabonisa center and power forward, has established himself as one of the best players in the league. The 28-year-old, who stands at over 6-foot-3, is a three-time All-Star who finished in the top 10 in MVP voting and was named to the All-NBA Third Team in each of the last two Squadrons.

Sabonis, a recent convert to Judaism, averaged 19.4 points and 13.7 rebounds per game last season, leading the league. Sabonis ranked sixth in the NBA with 8.2 assists per game 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, studied with Rabbi Erez Sherman of Los Angeles and was involved in the local chapter of the Chabad Hasidic movement in Sacramento. Sabonis also keeps kosher and celebrates Shabbat, Passover and other Jewish holidays.

“He loves [Judaism] and really want 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.