# 2015–16 Israeli Basketball Super League

The 2015–2016 Israeli Basketball Super League was the 62nd season of the Israeli Basketball Super League. The regular season started on October 11, 2015, and ended on March 6, 2016. The last game was played on June 9, 2016.
This season, the league had a different format. After the eight best teams qualified for the Playoffs, the winners of the series would play in a Final Four tournament.
Hapoel Jerusalem was the defending champion. Hapoel failed to reclaim its title, because Maccabi Rishon LeZion won in the Final. It was the first championship ever for Rishon LeZion.

## Teams

Maccabi Kiryat Gat has been promoted to the league after winning 2014–15 National League. Hapoel Gilboa Galil, who finished last season, relegated from the Super League.

### Stadia and locations

| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
| Bnei Herzliya | Herzliya | HaYovel Herzliya | 1,500 |
| Maccabi Kiryat Gat | Kiryat Gat | Ashkelon Sports Arena | 3,000 |
| Hapoel Holon | Holon | Holon Toto Hall | 5,500 |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | Jerusalem | Pais Arena | 11,000 |
| Ironi Nahariya | Nahariya | Ein Sarah | 2,000 |
| Ironi Nes Ziona | Nes Ziona | Lev Hamoshava | 1,300 |
| Maccabi Ashdod | Ashdod | HaKiriya Arena | 2,200 |
| Hapoel Eilat | Eilat | Begin Arena | 1,690 |
| Maccabi Haifa | Haifa | Romema Arena | 5,000 |
| Maccabi Rishon LeZion | Rishon LeZion | Beit Maccabi Rishon | 2,200 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Tel Aviv | Menora Mivtachim Arena | 10,383 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Tel Aviv | Drive in Arena | 3,504 |

## Regular season

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 33 | 27 | 6 | 2886 | 2572 | +314 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 2 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 33 | 24 | 9 | 2826 | 2521 | +305 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 3 | Maccabi Haifa | 33 | 19 | 14 | 2565 | 2482 | +83 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 4 | Ironi Nahariya | 33 | 18 | 15 | 2547 | 2611 | −64 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 5 | Hapoel Eilat | 33 | 17 | 16 | 2636 | 2677 | −41 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 6 | Maccabi Rishon LeZion | 33 | 16 | 17 | 2659 | 2644 | +15 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 7 | Bnei Herzliya | 33 | 15 | 18 | 2690 | 2733 | −43 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 8 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 33 | 15 | 18 | 2698 | 2678 | +20 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 9 | Maccabi Ashdod | 33 | 14 | 19 | 2719 | 2813 | −94 | |
| 10 | Hapoel Holon | 33 | 12 | 21 | 2567 | 2715 | −148 | |
| 11 | Maccabi Kiryat Gat | 33 | 11 | 22 | 2627 | 2785 | −158 | |
| 12 | Ironi Nes Ziona | 33 | 10 | 23 | 2591 | 2780 | −189 | Relegation to Liga Leumit |

## Playoffs
### Quarterfinals

The Quarterfinals were played as best-of-five playoff series. The higher ranked team hosted games 1, 3 and 5 (if necessary). The lower ranked team hosted games 2 and 4 (if necessary). The Quarterfinals started on May 19 and ended on June 1.
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | 3–2 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 99–97 | 85–87 | 90–73 | 84–93 | 86–84 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 3–0 | Bnei Herzliya | 76–75 | 68–51 | 81–54 | – | – |
| Maccabi Haifa | 2–3 | Maccabi Rishon LeZion | 69–71 | 71–89 | 83–66 | 75–65 | 60–70 |
| Ironi Nahariya | 0–3 | Hapoel Eilat | 75–82 | 77–80 | 85–86 | – | – |

## Final four

| Semi-finals 6 June | Semi-finals 6 June | Final 9 June | Final 9 June |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | 82 |
| Hapoel Eilat | 78 | | |
| Hapoel Eilat | 78 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 77 |
| | | Maccabi Rishon LeZion | 83 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 69 | Maccabi Rishon LeZion | 83 |
| Maccabi Rishon LeZion | 71 | | |

## Final standings

| Pos | Team | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Maccabi Rishon LeZion | Qualified for 2016–17 Champions League Regular season |
| 2 | Hapoel Jerusalem | Wild card for 2016–17 Eurocup Basketball |
| 3 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | Automatically qualified for 2016–17 Euroleague |
| 4 | Hapoel Eilat |
| 5 | Maccabi Haifa |
| 6 | Ironi Nahariya | Qualification for the Champions League First qualifying round |
| 7 | Bnei Herzliya | Qualification for the FIBA Europe Cup |
| 8 | Hapoel Tel Aviv |
| 9 | Maccabi Ashdod |
| 10 | Hapoel Holon |
| 11 | Maccabi Kiryat Gat |
| 12 | Ironi Nes Ziona | Relegated to the Ligat Leumit |

## Statistical leaders

    As of 22 April 2016.
| Efficiency Pos Player Club PIR 1 Darryl Monroe Maccabi Rishon LeZion 25.0 2 Paul Delaney Maccabi Kiryat Gat 23.5 3 Alade Aminu Hapoel Eilat 22.6 | Points Pos Player Club PPG 1 Will Clyburn Hapoel Holon 20.4 2 Charles Thomas Maccabi Ashdod 20.4 3 Diante Garrett Maccabi Ashdod 18.8 |
| Rebounds Pos Player Club RPG 1 Alade Aminu Hapoel Eilat 9.9 2 Richard Howell Ironi Nahariya 9.6 3 Darryl Monroe Maccabi Rishon LeZion 8.8 | Assists Pos Player Club APG 1 Niv Berkowitz Ironi Nahariya 6.7 2 Gregory Vargas Hapoel Haifa 6.6 3 Diante Garrett Maccabi Ashdod 6.0 |

### Season highs

| Category | Category | Player | Club |
| Points | 46 | Nate Robinson | Hapoel Tel Aviv |
| Rebounds | 20 | Richard Howell | Ironi Nahariya |
| Assists | 16 | Gal Mekel | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| Blocks | 6 | 5 occasions | 5 occasions |
| Steals | 7 | Paul Delaney (2 times) | Maccabi Kiryat Gat |
Source: RealGM

## All-Star Game

The 2016 Israeli League All-star event was held on 25 March 2016, at the Begin Arena in Eilat.
Israeli All-Stars :
| Pos | Player | Team |
| Starters |||
| G | Gal Mekel | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| G | Meir Tapiro | Maccabi Kiryat Gat |
| F | Shawn Dawson | Maccabi Rishon LeZion |
| F | Oz Blayzer | Maccabi Haifa |
| C | Elishay Kadir | Hapoel Eilat |
| Reserves |||
| G | Niv Berkowitz | Ironi Nahariya |
| G | Yuval Naimi | Ironi Nes Ziona |
| G | Aviram Zelekovits | Bnei Herzliya |
| G | Raviv Limonad | Hapoel Tel Aviv |
| G | Afik Nissim | Hapoel Eilat |
| F | Amit Simhon | Hapoel Eilat |
| F | Karam Mashour | Bnei Herzliya |
| F | Jonathan Skjöldebrand | Maccabi Ashdod |
| F | Lior Eliyahu | Hapoel Jerusalem |
| C | Isaac Rosefelt | Hapoel Holon |
| Head coach: Danny Franco (Hapoel Jerusalem) |||
| Head coach: Rami Hadar (Maccabi Haifa) |||
International All-Stars :
| Pos | Player | Team |
| Starters |||
| G | Gregory Vargas | Maccabi Haifa |
| G | Khalif Wyatt | Hapoel Eilat |
| F | Will Graves | Maccabi Haifa |
| F | Donta Smith | Hapoel Jerusalem |
| C | Darryl Monroe | Maccabi Rishon LeZion |
| Reserves |||
| G | Isaiah Swann | Maccabi Ashdod |
| G | Diante Garrett | Maccabi Ashdod |
| G | Michael Umeh | Ironi Nahariya |
| G | Sundiata Gaines | Ironi Nes Ziona |
| F | Gilbert Brown | Ironi Nahariya |
| F | Drew Crawford | Bnei Herzliya |
| F | Will Clyburn | Hapoel Holon |
| F | John Williamson | Hapoel Tel Aviv |
| F | Dragan Bender | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| C | Marco Killingsworth | Maccabi Kiryat Gat |
| C | Alade Aminu | Hapoel Eilat |
| Head coach: Žan Tabak (Maccabi Tel Aviv) |||
| Head coach: Mickey Gorka (Bnei Herzliya) |||
* 25 March
| Israeli All-Stars | 143–118 | International All-Stars |
| Scoring by quarter: 41–25, 39–34, 24–35, 39–24 |||
| Pts: Kadir 21 Rebs: Kadir 9 Asts: Berkovitz 8 | | Pts: Garrett 18 Rebs: Garrett 8 Asts: Garrett 5 |
* Begin Arena , Eilat Attendance: 1,690

### Three-point shootout

Contestants :
| Pos. | Player | Team | First round | Final round |
| G | Isaiah Swann (W) | Maccabi Haifa | 21 | 16 |
| F | Guy Pnini | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 22 | 14 |
| G | Amit Simhon | Hapoel Eilat | 19 | - |
| G | Michael Umeh | Ironi Nahariya | 19 | - |
| G | Aviram Zelekovits | Bnei Herzliya | 16 | - |
| G | Yotam Halperin | Hapoel Jerusalem | 14 | - |
| G | Afik Nissim | Hapoel Eilat | 13 | - |
| G | Yuval Naimi | Ironi Nes Ziona | 9 | - |

### Slam Dunk Contest

Contestants :
| Pos. | Player | Team | First round | Second round | Final round |
| F | Gilbert Brown (W) | Ironi Nahariya | 50 | 45 | 46 |
| F | John Williamson | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 50 | 45 | 45 |
| F | Karam Mashour | Bnei Herzliya | 50 | 42 | - |
| C | Alade Aminu | Hapoel Eilat | 44 | 42 | - |
| G | Diante Garrett | Maccabi Ashdod | 41 | 47 | - |

## Awards
### Regular season MVP

* Darryl Monroe (Maccabi Rishon LeZion)

### All-BSL 1st team

* Gal Mekel (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
* Khalif Wyatt (Hapoel Eilat)
* Donta Smith (Hapoel Jerusalem)
* Lior Eliyahu (Hapoel Jerusalem)
* Darryl Monroe (Maccabi Rishon LeZion)

### All-BSL 2nd team

* Gregory Vargas (Maccabi Haifa)
* Raviv Limonad (Hapoel Tel Aviv)
* Shawn Dawson (Maccabi Rishon LeZion)
* Will Clyburn (Hapoel Holon)
* Richard Howell (Ironi Nahariya)

### Coach of the Season

* Arik Shivek (Maccabi Rishon LeZion)

### Rising Star

* Karam Mashour (Bnei Herzliya)

### Best Defender

* Gregory Vargas (Maccabi Haifa)

### Most Improved Player

* Itay Segev (Maccabi Tel Aviv)

### Sixth Man of the Season

* Bar Timor (Hapoel Jerusalem)