Zufer Avdija

Zufer Avdija (, ; born 1 October 1959 When he was 15 he briefly played football as a goalkeeper for Ramiz Sadiku youth team in Pristina. In 1979, he joined the Belgrade-based team Crvena zvezda of the Yugoslav Basketball League, where he played during the 1980s. He was a team captain.

In the 1990s, Avdija played for Israeli clubs: Ramat HaSharon, Hapoel Herzliya, Rishon LeZion, Hapoel Tel Aviv, and Elitzur Bat Yam.

International career Avdija was a member of the Yugoslavia national team that won the bronze medal at the 1982 FIBA World Championship in Colombia, alongside teammates from Crvena zvezda, Rajko Žižić and Zoran Radović. He scored his tournament-high with 24 points in a 101–77 win over Uruguay. Over four tournament games, he averaged 8.8 points per game.

Additionally, Avdija also won the gold medal at the 1983 Mediterranean Games in Morocco. He played 50 games for the national team.

Personal life From his first marriage Avdija has 2 children, a daughter Iva and a son, Andrej.

He later married Sharon Artzi, an Israeli Jew from kibbutz Beit Zera, who is a former track and field athlete and basketball player. Their Israeli-born son, Deni Avdija (born 2001), is also a professional basketball player. Deni was drafted as the 9th overall pick by the Washington Wizards in the 2020 NBA draft and traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in July 2024 . Deni Avdija also represents the Israel national team internationally.