Owner Ofer Yannay continues to make waves in the Israeli basketball world as Hapoel Tel Aviv has come to terms with NBA star Patrick Beverley, the guard announced on his X account Tuesday which was followed by an official statement by the club. “They gave me everything I asked for… I couldn’t refuse.”, the 36-year old posted from his Pat Bev Pod podcast account and then confirmed via his personal account.
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) July 16, 2024
The Reds will add Beverley to a roster that includes a number of top signings this summer which includes Johnathan Motley, Ish Wainwright, Ben Bentil, Marcus Foster and Joe Ragland as they will look to challenge the 2-time defending champions and crosstown rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv.
In addition, Yannay’s Hapoel hosted 4-time NBA Champion Tony Parker this month when a joint announcement was made that his club, ASVEL Villeurbanne will come to Israel for a preseason tournament hosted by the Reds.
Tony Parker and Ofer Yannay – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman
“The general manager and coaching staff defines who are the best and most suitable players in each position, we do everything to bring them – and usually succeed,” Yannay exclaimed. “The addition of Patrick, an exceptional player with an enormous motivation to win, is first of all a significant part of the fulfillment of our desire to build a strong club and a deeper roster that will fight for all the titles, but in addition this is a player whose very signing with Hapoel Tel Aviv will make him an important ambassador of basketball and of Israel, especially now.”
General manager George Hinas added, “This is a very exciting day. Patrick Beverley is joining the Hapoel Tel Aviv family. I want to thank the owners and all of the management who made this happen and of course thank Patrick as well, who during the meetings with us showed great respect for the club. Patrick is very enthusiastic about the move, he is very hungry and ready to prove and fight for the club and the fans.”
Over the years there have been a number of top level NBA veterans that have signed in Israel including Amare Stoudemire, Nate Robinson and Jordan Farmar to name a few. Beverley, who is known for his tough as nails defensive play will join that list and arrive in the Holy Land with a rich resume of having played for no less than 7 NBA teams including the Rockets, Clippers, Timberwolves, Lakers, Bulls, 76ers and Bucks.
In close to 750 games across the NBA regular seasons and playoffs, Beverley averaged 8.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while also having been named to the NBA All-Defensive Team in 2017 and was selected twice to the second team in 2014 and 2020.
Patrick Beverly – Graphic: Yehuda Halickman, Sports Rabbi
Beverley, who played for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks between 2006-08 began his professional career overseas with Dnipro in Ukraine followed by a stop in Athens with Olympiacos and then a season at Spartak St. Petersburg where he was named as the EuroCup MVP in 2012.
Interestingly enough, Beverley played under Israeli coach Zvika Sherf at Spartak and shared the floor with Omri Casspi at Houston as well as Yotam Halperin with both Olympiacos and St. Petersburg while current Hapoel head coach Stefanos Dedas was an assistant with Spartak also when the guard featured in Russia.
With his return to Europe, Beverley will no doubt be a huge draw both in the Israel domestic league as well as in the EuroCup competition where Hapoel Tel Aviv will no doubt look to win the league and earn a place in the Euroleague.
Should Israel not be able to host EuroCup games due to the ongoing war with Hamas, the Reds will play abroad just as they did last season but instead of Belgrade they will play in Samokov, Bulgaria.
Hapoel Tel Aviv has played in the Shlomo Group “Drive In Arena” which seats approximately 3,000 fans over the past few seasons but may move to the larger 10,000 seat Menora Mivtachim “Yad Eliyahu” Arena where they would share the facility with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
0 Comments