Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has refuted reports claiming he labeled Deni Avdija as the team’s best player. Billups clarified his stance in a recent statement, saying, “I don’t know where the hell that came from. I never said that.
“He is one of our better players, don’t get me wrong, but I never said that he was our best player. I wouldn’t say that he is our best player, but he’s a very valuable player to us. I’m so excited to coach him. But I don’t know here the hell that came from.
The confusion appears to stem from comments made by Billups regarding Avdija’s performance in practice. According to Sean Highkin, Billups noted that there are days when Avdija shines as the best player during practices, but this was misinterpreted as a definitive declaration of his status on the team.
“That sounds about right, which there’s been about five guys that I’ve said that about. But this social media phase and age and all of that, I mean y’all know I don’t have a problem saying anything that I mean, but I don’t like being misquoted because there’s too many people involved,” Billups confirmed the origin of the comments.
“Y’all know I’m not on social media, but all of our players are, all of the world is and I’m a man of my word and when I say something I want it to be represented the right way,” he added.
Avdija was traded to the Trail Blazers on July 6, 2024. The deal involved sending Bub Carrington, Malcolm Brogdon, and multiple draft picks to the Washington Wizards in exchange for the 23-year-old forward.
Last season with the Wizards, Avdija averaged a career-high 14.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 30.1 minutes per game.
