Deni Avdija has become the breakout star the Portland Trail Blazers have been searching for, and his rise has changed the trajectory of the franchise. That doesn't, however, mean everyone enjoys watching him. NBA analyst Zach Lowe put Avdija on his list of players he doesn't enjoy watching, saying:
"Similar to Luka, I haven't really enjoyed the Deni Avdija show this year. It's a lot of free-throw baiting... Not baiting... It's just, he gets fouled a lot, and he's whining all the time to the refs. He's on my list..."
It's become a common refrain among nuetral NBA fans about the top free-throw shooters in the league; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, James Harden, Jalen Brunson, and recently Avdija have all been tagged with the label of "foul baiter."
It's hard to fault people who don't love watching Avdija play basketball. He does shoot a lot of free throws (second in the league to Luka Doncic) and he does often seem to attack the hoop witht the intention of getting fouled.
Deni Avdija's free throw attempts are wearing on viewers
Avdija does get a favorable whistle. I'm not sure why that's the case, but it does seem like he's rewarded for his efforts more often than even the other "free throw merchants."
But it's not like Avdija is being rewarded for no reason. He's currently the No. 1 in the NBA in drives per game. Ahead of Jaylen Brown, Cade Cunningham, SGA, and Jalen Brunson. Portland's star is averaging 19.1 drives per game. He's also passing on nearly half of those drives, considerably higher than any of those other stars. So Avdija isn't just blindly running into the paint hoping for fouls, even if fans outside of Portland seem to think he is.
Three things can be true; Avdija is a great basketball player without his ability to draw fouls, but that skill is what makes him a star — so while the rules are what they are, he should absolutely keep playing the way he does. Also, it's not aesthetically pleasing to watch a guy get fouled ten times per game, and Zach Lowe's disdain for that is also understandable.
Basically, no one is "wrong" here, except the NBA for rewarding this kind of play, if you want to get specific. But I don't see that changing any time soon; they tried to ban foul baiting five years ago and it was amazing for two weeks, but then enough guys complained that the NBA completely abandoned it. Alas.