The Portland Trail Blazers were well-represented at NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles this year.
Portland forward Deni Avdija competed in the main event on Sunday, giving the franchise its first All-Star since Damian Lillard in 2023. Lillard claimed his third 3-Point Contest title on Saturday, despite not playing in a game this season as he recovers from a torn Achilles. Portland centers Donovan Clingan and Yang Hansen both scored the rock in Friday’s Rising Stars Challenge.
Along with the basketball,
All-Star Weekend is packed with media availability sessions for the participants. In case you missed them, here’s a round-up of interviews from the weekend featuring Avdija and Lillard, with some notable quotes highlighted from each video. (A round-up of interviews from Clingan and Yang will follow later).
Deni Avdija
Saturday’s media availability session:
Avdija on if he embraces the challenge of being a pillar of the rebuild in Portland:
I definitely want to amplify a good culture into the organization. I hope I’m gonna stay in Portland. I love the city, the fans, and I think we’re in a good spot. I’m glad to be part of this building [process], and I’m really seeing a bright future.
On what he’s looking forward to most about All-Star Weekend:
I think just having fun, embrace the moment, having fun. A lot of times, first time being an All-Star can be a little like ‘Oh, where am I?’ Just embrace the moment, embrace the people, and just have fun with it. It’s basketball at the end of the day and I’m on the biggest stage in the world.
On how Lillard has been supportive of him:
Me and him talk a lot. It’s just like advice on a lot of teams focused on him when he played, like defenses, and how you break them down and how you manage to play physical and don’t let the other team get you out of your state of mind.
Sunday’s postgame media availability session:
On how he’s coming away from his first All-Star Weekend experience and his thoughts on the competitiveness of the All-Star Game:
First of all, it was a long weekend. I’m gonna say that. And the first game was good. We had a chance to warm up. The second game, we just went out there on the court immediately, so that was a little rough, but it was as competitive game. People really brought it, and I was happy. I was just playing, trying to do the best I can. … People really brought their effort and tried to play hard. Some players took more shots than others, so you can’t really control that. … We don’t play together all the time so we’re trying to figure each other out, but we tried. It was fun.
On if the USA vs. The World format brought extra competitiveness to the game:
I think it brought more from the Stripes actually. They were going at it. I think it brought some competitiveness with it, and it’s a fun format, and it shows how the game went global, which is amazing to see. And I hope it’s even gonna expand and people are about to understand it’s fun watching the All-Star game. It’s gonna be a little bit more competitiveness. We’re trying to bring it back.
Damian Lillard
Saturday’s media availability session (Before the 3-Point Competition):
Lillard on how his participation in the competition was sparked by a casual conversation with Michael Levine, the NBA’s senior vice president of entertainment and player marketing:
I was like, ‘If y’all need somebody to shoot, I’ll come shoot. I can use some competition, a little bit of pressure. I’m in an empty gym every day.’ He was like, ‘Man, that’d be awesome, but I don’t know if there’s a slot right now.’ And I was like, ‘It’s all good.’ So I made my plans. And then the day before they announced it, they asked like ‘Are you serious? Would you do it?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And it was literally that simple.
On how his Achilles recovery is going as he reaches the later stages of the process:
It’s pretty similar all the way through. I think when you get in the later stages, it’s just more so how sturdy your testing is, how harsh is the scale that you’re testing yourself on, and I think that’s where I am — testing it in the most harsh way, putting it in the most vulnerable positions and seeing how it responds, so I can know the truth about it. I feel good about.
On if he has started to envision playing with Avdija:
Watching him, it’s been fun mostly for me because I spend a lot of time seeing how the dynamic if I’m on the floor with him goes. I can learn him a lot better from this position than if I just came and had to play right away. And I can sit in the huddles and listen to him and hear how he speaks and how he thinks and where he’s coming from. So it’s been fun from that perspective.
On if he’d be willing to spend the rest of his career with the Blazers even if that means he’ll never win a championship:
To start my career, that was how I felt, and I got waived [in Milwaukee] and when I had an opportunity to go to any team, I picked this team. So I picked the team because, for one, it’s the team that I wanted to win a championship with all along. And two, the team is in position, in my eyes, to do that, especially with me being a part of it. So I think we do have a chance.
Saturday’s interview after winning the 3-Point Contest:
Lillard on what kind of chapter this will be in his book:
I think in a season where I’m not participating, the league allowing me to come in and do something like this — to get some competition, feel a little bit of pressure, get in front of the fans again — it was a great experience. But that’s all I do it for is just to keep adding to my legacy, keep adding to my reputation and being who I am. I was given an opportunity, and I came out and took advantage of it.
