A trio of Israeli athletes made NBA history on Monday night as the match between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Brooklyn Nets marked the first time three Israelis have shared a court at the highest level of basketball.
Deni Avdija, fresh off his historic selection as an NBA All-Star, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were all selected for the match at a sold-out Barclays Center in New York.
Shawls bearing a fusion of the Israeli and American flags were visible among the many Jewish fans in the arena, as were hats with “Brooklyn Nets” spelt in Hebrew.
Avdija’s Portland team defeated the Nets, for whom Saraf and Wolf play, by a scoreline of 114-95.
The Israeli star, who scored 18 points in the game, described it as “one of the most fun nights I’ve had”.
“I haven’t fully processed it yet,” said Avdija. “It’s tough that many people from Israel couldn’t come because of the war. I hope everyone is okay. Representing on the biggest stage – it’s emotional for me and for many others”.
“It felt like I’m back in Tel Aviv”, he added, in a nod to the level of support the trio received.
Saraf, who swapped jerseys with Avdija after the game, concurred: “Three Israelis on the court at the same time was something very special. A very emotional night”
“It’s too bad that we lost, but it’s bigger than that. The number of Jewish and Israeli fans here – when Deni was introduced, the whole crowd stood up. Every basket, it was emotional for me, for Danny Wolf, for everyone. It was a big event.”
Saraf, who is just 19 years old, raised his game for the occasion, contributing a career-high 15 points for the Nets, while Wolf, 21, added eight points of his own.
“Ben is a hell of a player”, Avdija said, continuing that they are “both talented guys, I’m proud of them”.
Nets coach Jordi Fernández recognised the “special” achievement, saying that “when other countries outside the US and Europe can be represented with three players here, it means the world, and it’s a special day that everybody has to enjoy”.
Avdija is Israel’s foremost basketball superstar, having recently been named an NBA All-Star, the first time an Israeli player has achieved the feat, which places him among the top 24 players in the world.
Playing the small forward position, he stands six feet and eight inches tall, and came up through the youth ranks of Maccabi Tel Aviv, before being drafted into the NBA at the age of 19 by the Washington Wizards.
He is the son of former Serbian-Gorani basketballer Zufer Avdija, who played for a decade for Belgrade-based Crvena Zvezda.
Saraf, meanwhile, was born in 2006 to Israeli parents in South Africa, before the family moved back to the Jewish state when he was three years old.
At 6’6”, he comes from a family of proficient basketballers. His father played one season in the Israeli Basketball Premier League and his mother played for the Israeli women’s national side.
Though only 19 years old, the up-and-coming prodigy has already bounced around different teams, playing for two Israeli sides, then Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany, before being selected by the Nets in the draft at the beginning of this season, one pick before Wolf.
Meanwhile, Wolf, 21, was born and raised in Illinois. He studied at Solomon Schechter Jewish day school until fifth grade, keeps kosher, and celebrated his bar mitzvah with a visit to the Kotel.
The tallest of the trio at 6’11”, he has represented Israel on the international stage since 2023 as a naturalised citizen, despite never having lived in country.
As a group, they are the only Israeli citizens currently playing in the NBA, as well as being the only three known Jews in the competition, though the Times of Israel reports that there is an unnamed player who is exploring conversion to Judaism.
Monday’s game broke a record which had last been surpassed in 2023, when two Israelis took to the court simultaneously – Omri Casspi of the Houston Rockets and Gal Mekel of the Dallas Mavericks.
It also ties the record for the number of Jews in a single game, as Dolph Schayes, Irv Bemoras, and Red Holzman all appeared in a 1953 fixture between the Syracuse Nationals and the Milwaukee Hawks.
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