Draymond GreenForward, Golden State Warriors

Deni Avdija Reveals the Chauncey Billups Advice That Changed His Career

12 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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In a conversational interview, Draymond Green asks Deni Avdija when he first realized he could be an All‑Star. Avdija recounts his early struggles after joining the Portland Trail Blazers and describes a pivotal moment when veteran Chauncey Billups approached him during practice. Billups told Avdija to "push" the ball after every rebound, turning his rebounding habit into an offensive catalyst. Avdija began to drive the ball forward, which opened up scoring opportunities, increased his confidence, and led to a statistical surge—averaging 24‑25 points per game while also sharing the ball. He reflects that the advice unlocked his belief that he belongs among elite players and that the opportunity to act on it was the key to his growth.

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They didn't let me realize I can be an All-Star in this league. Like that moment where I realized like, yo, I could do this. You know what I'm saying? Like, what would you say that moment came for you at?
It kind of happened fast, like in practices and like when I'm working out, like I knew I had tools for my height and my skill set that not a lot of guys have, but I didn't know if I can be an All-Star or it can be a consistent player. Came to Portland. I struggled a lot in the beginning. Then I remember Chauncey came up to me like, listen, you're a great rebounder. Every time you take the rebound, You push it. I want you to push it. I just started doing that. That was the only thing I was waiting in the game is to grab the board and just facilitating myself. And then the more I did it, the more everything kind of opened up. I kind of like, it was like kind of snowballing towards the end of the year. I'm averaging like 24 or 25 points and, you know, I'm sharing the ball and I'm having fun. I'm like, maybe I'm capable. You know what I'm saying? Like maybe I just needed like an opportunity or kind of felt like I belonged somewhere.