Approximately 30 foreign players from the Israel Basketball Winner League landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Friday morning as part of the preparations for the resumption of league games. Among the teams that these players belong to are Maccabi Rishon LeZion, Ironi Ness Ziona, Hapoel Emek, Maccabi Ramat Gan, Hapoel Holon, Elitzur Netanya, Maccabi Ra’anana, Ironi Kiryat Ata, Bnei Herzliya and Hapoel Be’er Sheva.

The Winner League will resume activity on Saturday, April 18, 2026, continuing what has been one of the most fascinating and competitive seasons the league has seen in recent years.

The league continues to operate intensively in cooperation with all relevant parties, with the goal of enabling the continuation of the season in the most professional and optimal manner for the benefit of the teams and the fans, while simultaneously preparing for any scenario.

Winner League Chairman, Ari Steinberg said, “We are excited about the return of the games home. We are looking forward to seeing the fans in the arena and continuing to deliver one of the best basketball seasons. This has been a challenging period, but we prepared in advance and carried out thorough planning to ensure the league’s return in the best and most responsible way possible. We will continue working to provide optimal conditions for the continuation of this exciting season.”

Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion star DJ Burns spoke upon arrival in Israel about his decision to return, “It really just came down to making a decision as well as the comfort of my family and my daughter. Really just a group decision, but overall everyone knows I love Israel. It’s not a secret.

“I love to show, you know, my Israeli pride. So after talking to my teammates and my family, I just decided that I trust Israel enough and I trust my team and I’m comfortable that I’ll be able to come here and perform. I love the Rishon fan base and I know they love me that’s like my second home. Hundred and hundreds of fans hit me up and it definitely influenced a little bit, but I already decided on coming back and they just really put the icing on the cake for me.

Burns also spoke about the balance of the season that awaits them and getting into the playoffs, “That’s the goal. That’s been the goal from the beginning and still remains the same. I’m really confident in our team and what we can do. I believe the organization behind us and they have everything we need in order for us to be successful. Everybody is still on the same page as far as what we have to do to win. We have a really big game coming up against Netanya and that’s where our head is, towards that and doing what we got to do in order to get that win.“