Robert Gluck, JNS.org At the start of each nationally televised game of the 2013 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat, ABC has aired a film-clip montage of basketball’s great players and coaches—a montage that includes Jewish coach Arnold “Red” Auerbach, the mastermind behind nine championship teams for the Boston Celtics. Red was one of four children of Marie and Hyman Auerbach. Hyman was a Russian-Jewish immigrant who left Belarus when he was 13. The couple owned …More

Israel has a new basketball champion, after Maccabi Haifa beat Maccabi Tel Aviv in the final of the BSL last week. Despite a playoff series leading up to the final, the title was dependent on the results of just one game. The BSL adopted this structure a few years ago to allow teams other than Maccabi Tel Aviv, which has dominated Israeli basketball for five decades, a shot at wining the title. Maccabi coach David Blatt lost the local title for the first time in his many seasons with the team, as Brad Greenberg …More

Another young Israeli athlete has signed a deal overseas. Basketball player Bar Timor is officially an Alba Berlin player for the next three years. Timor has a German passport and will not be considered a foreigner on the team, or in the country. Timor, who has recently finished the regular local season with Hapoel Tel Aviv, is set to make 300,000 euros per year with the German team. He is also the leading candidate for the league’s “Best Rookie” title, with 8.1 points, 3 assists, and 2.7 …More

Israel’s basketball season is coming towards the end just as the final stages of the NBA Playoff’s reach the league’s final. Yesterday, the Miami Heat, owned by Jewish businessman Micky Arison, advanced to the Finals after beating the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals and will match up against the San Antonio Spurs for the title. In Israel, Maccabi Tel Aviv swept Hapoel Jerusalem in the semi-finals 3:0 to advance to the final series. Coach David Blatt’s team now …More

The Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA began this week with defending champs the Miami Heat matching up against the Indiana Pacers. In a close game from beginning to end, the Heat gained the upper hand in the series, winning game one with a score of 103 to 102. With just 2.2 seconds to go, league MVP Lebron James took the winning shot at the buzzer, keeping the home court advantage in Miami, and making boss Micky Arison very happy. In Israel, as the final stages of the local basketball playoffs continue, there …More

On July 23 the Israeli National Basketball team will start training for the European Championships in September. As the players met with Arik Shivak and the rest of Team Israel’s coaching staff, Omri Casspi took the opportunity to discuss his past season, scoring more DNP (Did Not Play) games than points. Ever since the native Israeli failed to replicate the beginning of his NBA career, there has been talk of him returning to play for Israel’s powerhouse, Maccabi Tel Aviv. The forward debunked those …More

While Yossi Benayoun has been suffering anti-Semitic abuse on Twitter, basketball and soccer fans in the holy land have continued to cross all lines, causing riots and interfering with police work. In Israeli soccer, Beitar Jerusalem’s fans are causing most of the commotion during bouts with Saknin. Beitar management has also been targeted by a violent group of racist fans that call themselves “La Familia” and are dedicated to “Keep Beitar Pure” as signs stated months ago in a match …More

Team USA has announced its prospective basketball lineup for the upcoming Maccabiah Games, aka the "Jewish Olympics," to be held July 2013. Former NCAA Coach and current ESPN Analyst Seth Greenberg was supposed to be head the USA Open Men's Team, but due to personal reasons, he has stepped down, leaving the position to his older brother Brad Greenberg. Greenberg, a former general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, has been enjoying an outstanding coaching season leading Maccabi Haifa in Israel’s Basketball …More

NBA Commissioner David Stern praised Jason Collins' coming out today as the first openly gay pro athlete. [HuffPo] A Spanish Jewish museum opened in Grenada, and its founders wed at the opening. [Forward] A fire has destroyed the Danish Museum of WWII resistance. [Forward] A filmmaker questioned the BBC's decision to shelve a Jewish documentary. [Guardian] A Hungarian Jewish leader was attacked ahead of the Jewish Congress. [JPost] The remaining Beastie Boys members are set to pen a memoir. [NYT] Bette …More

Israeli basketball team Hapoel Galil/Gilboa made history by winning the Balkan Cup for the second year in a row, making them the first European team to do so. Hapoel, led by Coach Lior Lubin, beat Sofia from Bulgari 87:79 in a close game that ended in double over time. The Israeli team was behind for the first three quarters of the game, but managed to close the gap by the end of the forth with the help of Yaniv Green and Rakim Sanders, who tied the game at 63:63 and sent the match into overtime. Nimrod Tishman …More

The Israeli Basketball season is set to finally resume next week after the owners and the Israeli players’ union reached an agreement to end the strike on Wednesday. Representatives from both sides met and eventually agreed to a new five-year deal. Under the new agreement, every team will be allowed to register a maximum of five foreigners, but will be required to play with two Israelis on the court at all times. There will also be a 250,000 NIS bonus incentive for teams to sign only four foreign players. …More

After a rocky Euroleague season thus far, Maccabi Tel Aviv smashed Besiktas in the “Top 16,” last week in Turkey. The game was pretty much over from the first five minutes of the first quarter, and ended in a crazy score of 101:58 for Maccabi. Coach Blatt said that Assistant Coach Goodes joked about having to now pay compensation to the Turks, referring to the recent change in the relations between Israel and Turkey due to PM Netanyahu’s apology to Erdogan. He also sent an arrow towards the …More