Deni Avdija is getting All-Star mentions. Let's pump the brakes for a second and look at the numbers. Yes, he dropped 33 points against the Lakers. Impressive, sure. But context matters more than a single box score.
The Lakers win over the Trail Blazers, 123-115, saw Avdija light it up. Thirty-three points, six rebounds, three 3-pointers. Not bad. But was this a sign of things to come, or an anomaly? The Lakers were without Doncic and Reaves (two pretty significant absences). That means defensive assignments shifted, and opportunities opened up. You can see the Lakers 123-115 Trail Blazers (4 Nov, 2025) Final Score on ESPN.
Deandre Ayton had 29 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks against his former team. Revenge game, anyone? Sometimes, these things are narrative-driven as much as they are statistically significant. And Nick Smith Jr. – a name most casual fans probably hadn’t heard before that night – dropped 25 points off the bench. So, was the Lakers' defense just…bad that night? Occam's Razor suggests it's more likely than Avdija suddenly becoming an unstoppable force.
The Blazers, by the way, lost the game. A 33-point performance in a loss doesn't exactly scream "All-Star." It screams, "We still couldn't stop Ayton and Smith Jr."
The "All-Star Notice Already" headline is…ambitious. We're barely into November. All-Star selections are about sustained performance, not a hot streak. The article itself is cookie-cutter, designed to track user preferences (I've seen hundreds of these cookie notices).
I've looked at tons of player stats, and what stands out is the lack of a consistent upward trajectory in Avdija's numbers before this game. He's had good games, sure, but nothing that definitively pointed to this kind of explosion. Was it a coaching adjustment? A change in his training regimen? Details on his development strategy remain scarce, but it's hard to believe a single game warrants All-Star consideration.
It's too early to tell. One good game, even a great game, doesn't make an All-Star. Let's revisit this in January, after we've got a larger sample size. Then we can talk about trends, consistency, and whether this 33-point game was a statistical blip or the start of something bigger. For now, it’s just noise.
