Jeff Dowtin Jr. arrived in Israel and is ready to join Maccabi Tel Aviv for the 2025/26 season. The 28-year old point guard was met by the yellow-and-blue fans and was excited to get going with his new club after having played in the NBA and G-League for a number of years.

“Definitely very excited right now and I’m overcome with emotion. I’m grateful to be here and the fans are ready to get the show on the road. I’m ready to go out and play for them. I’m bringing in a winning culture be being a point guard, a leader that will orchestrate the offense but most importantly is to come out here and win. I just want to showcase the best of my abilities and go out there and be the great point leader.”

Dowtin spoke about deciding to come to Israel despite the issues and ongoing conflict, “I think coming here was the best opportunity for me and a great fit. The coaching staff, the fans, the atmosphere and the country in it of its own. I’m excited and super grateful and I love put here already and I’m ready to get started.

“I think it’s the competition that is here and watching European basketball 24/7 and a lot of guys made that jump to come over here. Some of the best have played out of Europe and I wanted to be a part of that and I think it’s a great opportunity for me. The competition is slowly growing and getting better each and every year.”

The floor general who played his college ball at Rhode Island and featured with five different NBA franchises is now making his first foray into European hoops and understands that there will be a learning curve, “I wouldn’t expect it to be easy for me and I know there will be some challenges throughout the year and I’m ready for that. As the year goes on everything will start to slow down and be easier for me. I’ll fit in just fine.”

Dowtin will join forces with a number of familiar faces in Oshae Brissett and Lonnie Walker as the trio all played in Philadelphia last season, “I had a talk with Oshae and I played with Lonnie last year. It’s a great situation for all three of us as we played with each other and just coming here will bring a great sense of urgency and team chemistry and I think that’s going to be big.”

What Dowtin is most excited about is getting to know the fans and playing in front of them at Yad Eliyahu, “The fans base has been amazing as I’ve seen videos and pictures of how crazy they are with so much energy and I’m excited to play in front of them and be a part of that. Win games and have them cheer us on.”