Maccabi Tel Aviv will look to get back on the winning track when they welcome Real Madrid to their home away from home in Belgrade on Thursday night (21:05) in Euroleague Gameday 7 action. The yellow-and-blue narrowly lost to Fenerbahce 84-82 in their last game while Los Blancos are 3-3 after falling to Olympiacos 79-69 in Piraeus.

Over the summer Chus Mateo’s squad had a significant amount of player movement as Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez hung up their sneakers while Guerschon Yabusele headed to the Philadelphia 76ers and Vincent Poirier departed for EFES.

Incoming were a number of new players including Xavier Rathan-Mayes who arrived in Madrid after having played for BC Enisey in Russia. The 30-year old, who is playing in his first season in the Euroleague as well as in Spain has made stops in many countries including Australia, Turkey, Greece as well as in Israel back in 2019 when he featured for Bnei Herzliya.

Just prior to tip-off, Rathan-Mayes discussed with The Sports Rabbi his time in the Holy Land, some of who influenced his game having grown up in Canada as well as his move to Real Madrid one of the world’s greatest basketball clubs.

“I am super excited,” Rathan-Mayes began. “The opportunity to play here is a special thing. I take a lot of pride being the first Canadian to ever play here so it is an honor for me, I am excited and I take a lot of pride in being able to represent this club.”

The Florida State product played in numerous leagues around the world after college from the NBA where he was part of the Memphis Grizzlies 2018 roster, the G-League as well as the NBL in Australia, the VTB and Turkish League to name a few. Now Rathan-Mayes is featuring in the Euroleague and the ACB, two of the best leagues in the world.

“It’s being an adjustment period. I am continuously adjusting to and I think I have been taking great steps forward. The last few games for me have been really good on both end of the floor offensively and defensively, understanding concepts and really getting a grasp of how we are going to play and what are we going to do here. I think I am adjusting well and I have some really good guys around me who are helping with that process.”

As for goals, Rathan-Mayes knows that at Real Madrid the goals are crystal clear, “To win. I mean win as many championships as possible and for me personally to be the best player in this system that I can possibly be. We have a great system and we have a great group of guys. For me it is just about fitting in and to be myself within the system is something you want to see transpire over the season.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv will of course be a challenge for Real Madrid especially because the game will be played in Pionir Arena in Belgrade and not in Tel Aviv where 11,000 fans would be creating a terrific basketball atmosphere. But Rathan-Mayes knows that despite the lack of supporters in the stands his squad will need to pay attention to details in order to come away with a win.

“I think that is the biggest challenge in itself playing in an arena with very few fans. You have to create your own energy. You have to go in there with a really good game plan and execute it knowing that the energy is going to have to come from our group. That is how we have to approach it.”

Growing up in Canada, the Markham, Ontario native began forging his own basketball career at a very young age as he looked to develop his game in a unique way, “My biggest influence was probably just the guys who surrounded me playing at my local YMCA, I always wanted to do something different and I always wanted to be someone different. I always wanted to make a path for myself that was different and unique to anything anybody ever did. I think that was my motivation in order to be successful. I owe a lot of my success to the people I had around me: my family and the guys I was always playing against back on.”

Rathan-Mayes played in Israel with Bnei Herzliya and while the team didn’t have much success during his time there the swingman did have some phenomenal performances, leaving him with some good memories.

“I have some big memories of Israel. We had a really good couple of guys to whom I was very close. I enjoyed being there for the three or four months that I was. Obviously, I wish we have had more success but my memory of playing that league was that it was a good league, very competitive on a night to night basis. I had some really good games and great performances and I am very thankful for every step along the way in my journey. That was another step for me. It is a place and a team that I am grateful for the opportunity to play and be part of that there.”