page_title: List of Jews in sports
section_title: Basketball
hierarchical_section_title: List of Jews in sports / Athletes / Basketball
caption_attribution_description: EuroLeague - Olimpia vs Maccabi
context_page_description: This list of Jewish athletes in sports contains athletes who are Jewish and have attained outstanding achievements in sports. The criteria for inclusion in this list are:
  1–3 places winners at major international tournaments;
  for team sports, winning in preliminary competitions of finals at major international tournaments, or playing for several seasons for clubs of major national leagues; or
  holders of past and current world records.
  Boldface denotes a current competitor.
  To be included in the list, one does not necessarily have to practice Judaism. Some members of the list may practice other religions or no religion at all, but are of Jewish ancestry.
  The topic of Jewish participation in sports is discussed extensively in academic and popular literature. Scholars believe that sports have been a historical avenue for Jewish people to overcome obstacles toward their participation in secular society.
context_section_description: Joe Alexander, US & Israel, 6' 8" forward (Hapoel Holon)
  Ben Auerbach, US, 6' 1" guard
  Red Auerbach, standout player for George Washington University; U.S., Hall of Fame-inducted coach of the Boston Celtics
  Deni Avdija, Israel, 6' 9" forward (Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C.)
  Sam Balter, US, 5' 10" guard, Olympic champion
  Miki Berkovich, Israel,  6'4" shooting guard
  Sue Bird, US & Israel, WNBA 5' 9" point guard, 2x Olympic champion, 11x All-Star (Seattle Storm)
  David Blatt, US & Israel, Israeli Premier Basketball League 6' 3.5" point guard, coached Russia National Basketball Team, Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv to EuroLeague Championship, EuroLeague Coach of the Year, 4x Israeli League Coach of the Year, former Head Coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, head coach of Turkish club Darussafaka
  Mike Bloom, US, NBA 6' 6" forward/center, ABA All-American
  David Blu (formerly "Bluthenthal"), US & Israel, EuroLeague 6' 7" power forward (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
  Moysés Blás, Brazil, Olympics 5' 11" guard
  Harry Boykoff, US, NBA 6' 10" center
  Tal Brody, US & Israel, EuroLeague 6' 2" shooting guard
  Larry Brown, US, ABA 5' 9" point guard, 3x ABA All-Star, 3x assists leader, NCAA National Championship coach (1988), NBA coach, Olympic champion, Basketball Hall of Fame
  Omri Casspi, Israel, NBA 6' 9" small forward, drafted in 1st round of 2009 NBA draft, for Memphis Grizzlies (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
  Steve Chubin, US, ABA 6' 3" guard
  Alex Chubrevich, Israel & Russia, Premier League 7' 0" center (Maccabi Ashdod)
  Alysha Clark, US-Israel, WNBA 5' 11" small forward (Seattle Storm)
  Jeff Cohen, US, ABL 6' 7" power forward
  Shawn Dawson, Israel, 6' 6" small forward/shooting guard (Club Joventut Badalona)
  Shay Doron, Israel & US, WNBA 5' 9" guard (Maccabi Ashdod)
  Lior Eliyahu, Israel, EuroLeague 6' 9" power forward, 2006 NBA draft (Orlando Magic; traded to Houston Rockets), playing in the EuroCup (European top tier) (Maccabi Ashdod)
  Jordan Farmar, US, NBA 6' 2" point guard, NBA
  Marty Friedman, US, 5' 7" guard & coach, Hall of Fame
  Jack Garfinkel, US, NBA 6' 0" guard
  Tamir Goodman, US-Israel, 6' 3"
  Ernie Grunfeld, Romania-born US, NBA 6' 6" guard/forward & GM, Olympic champion
  Yotam Halperin, Israel, EuroLeague 6' 5" guard, drafted in 2006 NBA draft by Seattle SuperSonics (Hapoel Jerusalem)
  Sonny Hertzberg, US, NBA 5' 9" point guard, original NY Knickerbocker
  Art Heyman, US, NBA 6' 5" forward/guard
  Nat Holman, US, ABL 5' 11" guard & coach, Hall of Fame
  Red Holzman, US, BAA & NBA 5' 10" guard, 2x All-Star, & NBA coach, NBA Coach of the Year, Hall of Fame
  Eban Hyams, India-Israel-Australia, Australian National Basketball League & Israeli Super League 6' 5" guard (Haryana Gold), first-ever Indian national to play in ULEB competitions
  Oded Kattash, Israel, Premier League 6' 4" point guard & coach
  Joel Kramer, US, NBA 6' 7" forward (Phoenix Suns)
  Sylven Landesberg, US-Israel-Austria, EuroLeague 6' 6" former UVA shooting guard/small forward (Zhejiang Golden Bulls)
  Rudy LaRusso, US, NBA 6' 7" forward/center, 5x All-Star
  Howard Lassoff, US, Israel, 6' 10" center, six-time Israeli Basketball League Champion with Macabi Tel Aviv.
  Nancy Lieberman, US, WNBA 5' 10" point guard, general manager, & coach, Olympic silver, Hall of Fame
  Gal Mekel, Israel, 6' 3" point guard (Pallacanestro Reggiana)
  Yogev Ohayon, Israel, Super League 6' 2" point guard (Hapoel Holon)
  Bernard Opper, US, NBL & ABL 5' 10" guard, All-American at University of Kentucky
  Donna Orender (née Chait), US, Women's Pro Basketball League 5' 7" point guard, All-Star, former WNBA president
  Josh Pastner, US, NCAA 6' 0" guard & coach
  Zack Rosen, US, Super League 6' 1" point guard
  Lennie Rosenbluth, US, NBA 6' 4" forward
  Abe Saperstein, founder of the Harlem Globetrotters
  Danny Schayes, US, NBA 6' 11" center/forward (son of Dolph Schayes)
  Dolph Schayes, US, NBA 6' 7" forward/center, 3x FT% leader, 1x rebound leader, 12x All-Star, Hall of Fame, & coach (father of Danny Schayes)
  Ossie Schectman, US, NBA 6' 0" guard, scorer of first NBA basket
  Jon Scheyer, US, All-American Duke University 6' 5" shooting guard & point guard (Maccabi Tel Av
caption: Deni Avdija
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