The Israel Under-16 Men’s National Team takes to the court on Friday at the European Championship in Tblisi, Georgia and there is one name on the tip of the tongues of the scouts who will be following the blue-and-white and that’s Omri Orland. The 15-year old has taken Israeli youth basketball scene by storm and could very well be on the track to the NBA.

Omri, who is not only the son of Yehu Orland a former player and current U16 national team coach as well as the Beni Herzliya Head Coach, is also the grandson of one the greats of the game that the Holy Land has seen in Hapoel Tel Aviv legend Barry Leibowitz. In fact the former reds star was quoted back in 2019 in an article by Arale Weisberg at Walla Sport saying about his grandson, “Omri Orland, Yehu’s son, who is only nine years old, will one day drive the country crazy. He dances with the ball and does crazy things with it. He will be a Steph Curry with the height of Luka Doncic. Remember the name.”

Fast-forward more than 6 years and Leibowitz’s vision is coming to fruition in a very big way as the U16 ready for Turkey on Friday at 3pm.

Orland at 1.90 meters grew up at the Hapoel Emek Hefer youth and has previously played for the Under-14 national team, now serves as the co-captain of the Under-16 squad as he leads them into the European Championship. Just last month, at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Skopje, North Macedonia, the point guard, who was chosen as one of the flag bearers of the Israeli delegation, showcased his play helping Israel to a 6th place finish.

At the tournament Orland began with a 21-point game in a loss to Serbia and then went on to have a 20-point showing, including a game-winning basket, against Lithuania. From there he scored 23 points in a loss to Slovenia, settled for 9 points in a win over Latvia and finally scored 18 points, including what could have been a game-winning basket, in a dramatic loss to Slovenia. Overall, Orland led the team with an average of 18.2 points per game – fourth best in the tournament.

“I’m very excited as this is my first time as a player going to a championship like this,” Orland told The Sports Rabbi at the team’s media day in the new Hadar Yosef Sports Hall. “It’s exciting and a lot of fun to be with all of my friends who are really like family.”

The chairman of Hapoel Emek Hefer, Lior Kaplinsky spoke about how Orland came to the club’s youth department, “I’ve known Omri since 3rd grade when he started at our basketball school in Emek Hefer. Along the way I also met his father who also became involved in a professional manner at the club. Omri was a very talented kid from a young age and you could see that from his first day with us.”

“Omri was literally ‘touched by God’, so to speak. From a very young age he had a very serious character and showed dedication to the goal, concentration, a desire to constantly advance from point A to point B, not to stand still, be very positive and is always one who listens to the coaches. I thought we had someone very talented right from the very beginning,” Kaplinsky added.

Yehu, Omri’s father who also led Emek Hefer to the double in the 2020/21 season is a part of his son’s career Kaplisky explained, “He’s very involved, but in a very encouraging and supportive way for both the club and Omri. He pushes him, but doesn’t rush him. At first, Omri was with a group that was older than him, but we all realized that it was better for him to be with his own age group because Omri didn’t develop as quickly as Ben Saraf who was just selected by the Brooklyn Nets. Saraf was always very big physically, he was always like a year older, at least. Omri wasn’t. Omri was exactly like his age, even average for his age. So Yehu is involved in all the decisions and I really listen to his opinion, so it’s kind of a partnership with Omri’s father.”

Kaplinsky is now very excited to see Omri at the European Championship and will watch how Oralnd will match up in the competition, “First of all, I am looking forward to it like crazy, I love watching him play, I love our guys and in general seeing the national team is a source of pride. It’s fun to watch him play, he does so many special things.”

Omri’s coach Moshik Nissan for the past two years is also looking forward to seeing him in action on the continental stage, “This is a kid I have worked with for two entire years. My expectation from him is the same of his expectation from himself. Omri’s expectation from himself is to lead the team, to be dominant and to be a leader, to take the team and make it better. I believe in him, I know there are a lot of expectations that are placed on him from a very young age, but the way I know Omri and how he did in the recent preseason tournament makes me feel that he’ll be excellent at the European Championship so I’m really looking forward to it.”

How far can Omri Orland go in his career? “If he continues to grow and continues his physical and athletic development, the sky’s the limit, because he will learn what he needs to in the game of basketball,” claims Kaplinsky. “There won’t be anything he’ll be weak at. He already shoots well and he can shoot better. He already has a mid-range shot right and can keep improving that. He’s smart, controls his body and just needs to get stronger, more athletic and taller and he can because he’s not finished growing yet.”

Right now, Orland is level headed and is focusing on the here and the now, “I want succeed as best as I can and go as far as possible in this campaign with the national team.”

But his coach Moshik Nissan sees a very bright future in store for Omri, “For me, he is a player who can reach the highest levels. He has an extraordinary personality, is extraordinarily coachable and an extraordinary ability to understand the game. I see Omri, once he matures physically, playing at the highest levels. Is NBA a dirty word? Time will tell. I wish him well and I think he’s capable of just that.”