The Sacramento Kings have selected an Israeli-born player in the 2026 NBA Draft.
As of Wednesday night, 22-year-old shooting guard Emanuel Sharp, son of former Maccabi Tel Aviv legend Derrick Sharp, is the latest addition to the Californian team, being selected with the 45th overall pick.
The 6’3” Israeli-American, who holds dual citizenship, was selected from Houston University, where he began playing college-level basketball in 2021. He has previously played for Israel’s Under-16 national basketball team.
Sharp set the school record for most career three-pointers at 309, and while playing for the Cougars, boasted an average three-pointer shot rate of 37.2 per cent and 15.5 points in the 2025-2026 season.
He follows in the footsteps of his father, who graduated from the University of South Florida and most recently played for Maccabi Electra Tel-Aviv in the Israeli Winner League.
Sharp joins three other current NBA players with Israeli citizenship: Deni Avdija of the Portland Trailblazers and Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf of the Brooklyn Nets.
The trio made NBA history during a Portland-Brooklyn game in March earlier this year, marking the first time three Israeli players have shared the court.
Speaking of the Portland Trailblazers’ win, Avdija described the game as “one of the most fun nights I’ve had”, adding that “it felt like I’m back in Tel Aviv. Avdija went on: “It’s tough that many people from Israel couldn’t come because of the war…representing on the biggest stage [is] emotional for me and many others.”
The NBA drafted its first-ever Israeli-born athlete – trailblazer Omri Casspi – to the Sacramento Kings in 2009.
Over the course of his decade-long career, Casspi also played for the Houston Rockets, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors, with whom he won the 2018 NBA championship. In 2022, the retired athlete co-founded Sheva Capital, an investment firm based in Israel.
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