My dad is from Kosovo, Serbia: Maccabi basketballer delights ahead of NBA draft

Maccabi basketballer Deni Avdija, who was chosen by Washington as the 9th pick in the night between Wednesday and Thursday, delighted the Serbian public with a statement he gave before the draft!

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Deni is the son of Zufer Avdija, a former basketball player and Red Star Belgrade captain, and when he introduced himself to the US public via video link, he said:

"My dad is Zufer Avdija. He was born in Kosovo, Serbia. He was a basketball player for the Yugoslav national team and several teams in Israel," said Deni, while his father's photos in Red Star kit flashed in the background.

Shortly afterwards, he made a statement during a live broadcast:

"Israel did not give many players to the NBA and it is a great honor to represent my country. I am excited and I want to improve my game," said Deni, who played for Maccabi for three years.

Serbia had only one player in this year's NBA draft - Aleksej Pokusevski, who ended up in Oklahoma as the 17th pick.

(Telegraf.rs)