Meet the Israeli NBA Players Making a Name for Themselves

The Israeli NBA players are making a name for themselves. Here’s a look at some of the most talented players in the league.

Omri Casspi

Omri Casspi is an Israeli professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the first Israeli to be drafted in the first round of an NBA draft and he is also the first Israeli to play in an NBA game Standing at 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in), he plays at the small forward position.

Casspi was born in Holon, Israel. He started playing competitively at age nine for Hapoel Galil Elyon’s youth team, and later played for Maccabi Tel Aviv’s youth team. He was a key player on Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Under-18 team that won the 2006 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship for Men, averaging 13 points and 5.4 rebounds per game In his last year with Maccabi Tel Aviv’s senior team, Casspi helped lead the team to win both the Israeli League Championship and the Israeli Cup, averaging 11 points and 3.7 rebounds per game

Gal Mekel

Gal Mekel, who played for the Dallas Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans is one of two Israeli-born players currently in the NBA. Mekel, who is 6’3″ and was born in 1986, grew up in Herzliya, Israel. He played for Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. before being drafted by the Mavericks in 2013. Mekel was traded to the Pelicans in 2014 and played for them until 2015, when he was waived.

Jordan Farmar

Jordan Farmar, who plays for the Sacramento Kings is one of a handful of Israelis currently in the NBA. He’s also one of the youngest players in the league, having just turned 23 in December.

Born and raised in Los Angeles Farmar took up basketball at a young age. He played for his local youth team and then for a traveling team before ultimately being recruited by UCLA. He played point guard for the Bruins from 2004 to 2006, helping them to two NCAA tournament appearances.

In 2006, Farmar was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 26th overall pick. He spent his first four seasons with the Lakers, playing backup point guard behind All-Star Kobe Bryant In his fourth season, Farmar averaged a career-high 10.1 points per game and helped the Lakers win their second consecutive NBA Championship

Farmar’s contract with the Lakers expired at the end of the 2010-11 season, and he chose to sign with Turkish club Efes Pilsen. He spent just one season overseas before returning to the NBA, signing with the New Jersey Nets in 2012. He’s currently in his second season with the Nets and is averaging 9.6 points per game

Yotam Halperin

Yotam Halperin is an Israeli professional basketball player who currently plays for Hapoel Be’er Sheva of the Israeli Premier League He is also a member of the Israeli national team

Halperin was born in Jerusalem, Israel, and began playing basketball when he was five years old. He played for several youth teams in Jerusalem before joining the Maccabi Tel Aviv youth team at age 16. He played for Maccabi’s junior team for two seasons before making his debut with the senior team in 2004.

Halperin has played for Maccabi Tel Aviv Hapoel Jerusalem, BC Khimki and Hapoel Be’er Sheva during his career. He was named Israeli League MVP in 2010 and has won four Israeli League championships (2005, 2006, 2009, 2014).

Halperin represented Israel at the 2006 FIBA World Championship and the 2009 European Championship. He also played at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Alex Tyus

Alex Tyus is an Israeli-American Professional Basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israel Premier League He played college basketball for the University of Florida and was part of the team that won the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship in 2007. He has also played for the Houston Rockets Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA.

Jon Scheyer

Jon Scheyer is an American-Israeli professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League and the EuroLeague. He also played college basketball for Duke University

Scheyer was born in Northbrook, Illinois, to a Jewish family. He played High School basketball for Glenbrook North high school where he was a four-year starter. As a senior, he was named Mr. Basketball of Illinois and Gatorade Player of the Year. He then attended Duke University where he played for the Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball team from 2006 to 2010. He helped lead Duke to an NCAA championship in 2010.

Scheyer joined Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2014. He has won two Israeli Premier League championships and two EuroLeague championships with the team.

In 2019, Scheyer was named EuroLeague Final Four MVP after leading Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Championship game

David Blatt

David Blatt is an Israeli-American basketball coach who is currently the Head Coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a former player and coach of the Israel national Basketball team

Blatt was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, to Jewish parents from Brooklyn, New York. He played College Basketball at Framingham State University and Salem State College. After serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), he played professionally in Israel for 14 seasons. In 1981, he helped Maccabi Tel Aviv win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, one of the first European titles won by an Israeli team.

Blatt began his coaching career in Israeli youth basketball ranks before serving as an Assistant Coach for various professional teams in Israel, Europe and Japan. In 1993, he was named Coach of the Year in Israel after leading Aris BSA 2003 to a surprise League Championship He later served as head coach of Hapoel Galil Elyon, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dynamo Moscow winning several more championships. In 2006, he led Egyptian team Al-Azhar University to a runner-up finish at the FIBA Africa Champions Cup.

In 2010, Blatt was hired by Greek club Olympiacos Piraeus, where he won back-to-back Euroleague championships in 2012 and 2013. In June 2014, he accepted an offer to return to the NBA as Head Coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers He led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in his first season with the team but lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games. However, he guided the Cavaliers to victory over the Warriorst en route to their first NBA Championship n 2016.

Lior Eliyahu

Lior Eliyahu is an Israeli professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the EuroLeague. He also represents the Israel National Team Standing at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he plays the small forward and Power Forward positions.

Eliyahu was born in Kibbutz Ein Carmel, Israel, to Yoel, a former basketball player and Irit Eliyahu. He grew up in the city of Hadera, where he played for Maccabi Hadera youth teams. In 2002, he was part of the Maccabi Hadera team that won the Israeli youth National Championship During his childhood, Eliyahu played soccer and tennis in addition to basketball.

Sofoklis Schortsanitis

Sofoklis Schortsanitis, better known as “Baby Shaq,” is a 6’9″, 325-pound Greek professional basketball player who currently plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League He has also played in the NBA for the Los Angeles Clippers Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets

A native of Yeroskipou, Cyprus, Schortsanitis began playing basketball at the age of 14. He rose to prominence as a member of the Greek Junior National Team where he won a bronze medal at the 2002 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. In 2003, he decided to forgo college and declare himself eligible for the NBA Draft However, he was not selected in the draft and instead began his professional career in Greece.

Schortsanitis made his debut with Greek Basket League club Sporting Olympiakos in 2003. He spent two seasons with Olympiakos before moving to Greek rival Panathinaikos in 2005. With Panathinaikos, he won back-to-back EuroLeague championships in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, he moved to the NBA and joined the Los Angeles Clippers However, he struggled to make an impact in the NBA and was eventually traded to the Atlanta Hawks in 2012. After one season with the Hawks, he was waived by the team and subsequently signed with the Houston Rockets He appeared in just four games for the Rockets before being released by the team in 2014.

He returned to Europe later that year and joined Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel. He has since helped Maccabi win two Israeli League championships (in 2015 and 2016) and one Israeli Cup (in 2015).

Yaniv Green

At 6’10”, Yaniv Green is one of the tallest players in the NBA. Green was born in Israel and played professional basketball there before being drafted by the NBA in 2002. He has since played for the Orlando Magic Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks Green is known for his strong defense and rebounding ability.