Deni Avdija, 24, continues to make the 2025–26 NBA season his most impressive yet. Despite Portland’s 123–115 loss to Oklahoma City, he delivered another standout showing that solidifies his status as one of the league’s rising stars.
His latest stat line, including 31 points, a season-high 19 rebounds and 10 assists, marked his fourth career triple-double and second of the year, bolstering his case as a potential All-Star.
The numbers speak for themselves. Only one other player in league history has recorded 30-plus points in each of their first four triple-doubles. Avdija joins Nikola Jokić, James Harden and Cade Cunningham as the only players with most 30-point triple-doubles this season.
He also became just the third player in Portland Trail Blazers history to record 500 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists in the team’s first 20 games, joining NBA legends Clyde Drexler and Damian Lillard.
Even against one of the NBA’s top defenses in the Thunder, Avdija delivered. It was his second 30-point game this season against Oklahoma City, and he finished just one rebound shy of matching his career high.
Averaging 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists, despite several key players missing, Avdija currently ranks ahead of stars such as Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Pascal Siakam in scoring.
The Blazers also highlighted a unique franchise milestone: Avdija is the only player in team history to post a game with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, and he’s already done it twice.
'I’m trying to make the right decisions'
Speaking in a postgame press conference, Avdija addressed the pressure and frequent double-teams guarding he faces: “When I came to the league at first, people would leave me wide open in the corner.
"And working and gritting, and making the right play every time, transferring teams, and now coming here and finding my groove, and I’m just having fun, and I’m trying to do the best I can to make the right decisions if I get double-teamed or triple-teamed, but it definitely gives you a little boost of confidence that you hurt teams. I’m happy that I can create these passes and takes for my teammates after those double- and triple-teams.”
On being compared to some of the league’s elite, he said: “It’s very flattering. The NBA world is driven by statistics; it’s not what I grew up on, but you can’t ignore the numbers. I work hard and want to help my team win."
Despite his historic night, the game ended in frustration. “We did a great job today fighting most of the game. Oklahoma blows out everybody by 20, and we gave them a good game till the 4th quarter. One run in the fourth quarter kind of hurt us. It happens. I’m proud of us for fighting like this,” he said.
Asked about the fatigue involved in his offensive role, Avdija replied that "I do get fatigued because I'm trying so much and I'm doing 100% on the floor. Sometimes it's just in your head. It's only November, and I've got to take care of my body a lot."