The love of sports stems from emotion and passion. It’s not always the achievements that are etched in memory, but rather individual moments, joyful and heartbreaking alike. And that’s exactly how Israel’s memories from the European Championships look. Ahead of the team’s 15th consecutive appearance, we revisited the key moments from the previous 14 tournaments, hoping that 2025 will be filled with some huge and emotional highlights.

1993

Anyone who followed basketball in the early ’90s couldn’t help but notice the physical resemblance between Adi Gordon and Nikos Galis. In Israel’s second game of the EuroBasket, that resemblance became very real when “Adi Jordan” (as the newspaper headline screamed the next day) dropped 35 points on Greece in one of the greatest performances ever by an Israeli player, leading the national team to a 79–74 victory.

1995

Revenge was served cold two years later in Athens. After easy wins over Sweden and Germany by a combined 43 points, Israel faced Greece in a decisive match.

The setting: OAKA Arena with 18,000 Greek fans.

The result: a crushing 69–49 defeat.

Respecting provincial pride aside, this tournament is mostly remembered for its dramatic semifinals and the epic final between Yugoslavia and Lithuania.

1997

Oded Katash’s breakout to stardom on a continental level began at this EuroBasket. Wearing #10 in blue-and-white, he was crowned the tournament’s top scorer and delivered impressive performances game after game. The highlight came against France where Katash simply danced on the court, torching the French with 34 points and leading Israel to an 88–82 win. Coach Zvika Sherf, seizing on the absence of his not-so-favorite TV commentator Eli Sahar (due to Shabbat), let loose a now-legendary curse on live camera.

1999

Not every tournament includes a buzzer-beater – and this one had two! After two early losses, Katash scored 12 points in the final seven minutes, including a dramatic buzzer-beater to give Israel a 64–62 win over Macedonia and a ticket to the next round. Four days later, Guy Goodes hit a game-winning three-pointer with ten seconds left to beat Slovenia, 67–66. Goodes was 28, Katash 24. It was the final EuroBasket for both.

2001

Despite Maccabi Tel Aviv winning the SuproLeague and Israel’s U20 team reaching the European final, the senior national team brought a lackluster roster. Without Katash, Goodes, Doron Sheffer, Nadav Henefeld, Guri Shelef, or Tomer Steinhauer, it sorely missed the clutch factor from 1999. The campaign opened with a heartbreaking 77–71 overtime loss to France and ended with a frustrating 71–67 defeat to Spain in the playoff for a quarterfinal spot.

2003

Current players, take note: 22 years ago, when most of you were kids, Israel came back from a 17-point first-quarter deficit to beat Slovenia 78–76 thanks to a game-winner by Tal Burstein. That victory sent Israel to the final eight for the first time in 20 years and, so far, this was the last time the blue-and-white reached this stage.

2005

You know the feeling when you’re the underdog, somehow take the lead against a stronger team and spend the whole game praying the magic doesn’t run out? That was the feeling during Israel’s stunning upset of Spain. With a mix of grit and grace, “Team Zvika” pulled off one of the biggest surprises of the tournament.

Final score: Israel 85, Spain 77. Burstein (19), Shelef (15) and Yaniv Green led the way against Jorge Garbajosa (21), Felipe Reyes (18), La Bomba Navarro (9) and José Calderón (6).

2007

The Middle Eastern giant-slayer did it again. After a humiliating 34-point blowout to eventual champions Russia, Israel shocked Serbia with an 87–83 win and advanced to the next round at the last minute. Rebounding king of the tournament, Yaniv Green, dominated with 26 points and 12 boards. Two days later, another big win followed an 80–75 victory over Croatia. Sadly, tiny Portugal brought Israel crashing back to earth.

2009

A disappointing and brutal showing where Israel was eliminated within 48 hours after losing all three games. Still, there were a couple of bright spots: Lior Eliyahu’s 31 points vs. Croatia in the opener and 21-year-old Gal Mekel emerging as the starting point guard. That’s about it. Moving on.

2011

After eight consecutive EuroBasket losses, Israel finally won and it really felt like a rebirth. Leading 89–87 against Latvia, David Blu missed two free throws, but Janis Strelnieks choked as well and Israel held on for a 91–88 win. Eliyahu was again the hero with 26 points.

2013

Disgraceful, humiliating, embarrassing, apathetic, lifeless – those were the media headlines after Israel’s shocking overtime loss to Great Britain, 75–71 on Rosh Hashanah. Against all predictions, Israel carried that stain until the next tournament.

2015

The only time Israel has advanced past the group stage since 2003 happened a decade ago. After a disappointing loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mekel showed his trademark composure and delivered a clutch 75–73 win over Poland, securing a spot in the round of 16. Coach Erez Edelstein broke down in tears during a post-game interview, touching many hearts.

2017

Israel hosted a major tournament for the first time ever and all the excitement culminated in one emotional night. A huge clutch three from Guy Pnini sealed an 82–80 overtime win over Dennis Schröder and Germany. National team director Pini Gershon broke into a wild dance with Sports Minister Miri Regev at center court in Yad Eliyahu Arena. As for the rest of the group stage, well, we won’t talk about it in order not to ruin the mood. Let’s just say it ended very, very badly.

2022

The EuroBasket postponed due to COVID-19 started well, with an 89–87 overtime win over Finland. But the warning signs were already there. Mekel took the last shot to win in regulation and Deni Avdija clearly showed his frustration at not getting the ball. Things only got worse from there, with reports of internal rifts and cliques reminiscent of teams in other sports. It’s time to fix that.