It’s not everyday that a 2x time NBA champion visits Israel, but that’s exactly what Josh Powell did this week as he decided to come to the Holy Land when it needed the support the absolute most to make a difference and put smiles on the faces of many.

The now 41-year old center graced the courts not only in North America with the Los Angeles Lakers where he captured a pair of titles in 2009 and 2010 and added one in Europe as well where he won the Euroleague crown with Olympiacos back in 2013.

However, after an illustrious career that saw Powell travel around the world to play basketball, he is here in Israel to help put those who have suffered so dearly since the October 7th attacks by Hamas but to also offer a lending hand, an ear to listen and a lot of positivity to make the country and the world a better place for all in conjunction with Athletes for Israel and Project Max.

Athletes For Israel is dedicated to combatting antisemitism and racism while changing the narrative of Israel by bringing athletes to Israel, allowing them to experience the Holy Land firsthand and fostering an authentic connection with its history, culture, innovation, and people. The aim is to inspire these athletes to share their transformative experiences across their social media platforms, thereby creating a powerful ripple effect that can inform and change the minds and hearts of their followers.

The Sports Rabbi had the privilege to talk to Powell while he attended the WINNER Cup quarterfinal game between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ironi Kiryat Ata about his journey to Israel, his thoughts on making a difference as well as his championships and reconnecting with Tamir Goodman while being a light onto the nation in a dark period of its history.

“Everybody is dealing with the difficulties of what happened going on a year ago,” Powell began. “So positivity, love and light is something which is important, especially for someone like myself. I’m not ignorant to my responsibility in regards to whether it’s me being American or me being African American. So just understanding how big support is, how big sending love and being positive and coming and showing love can do for the next person.”

Powell will be visiting with many people who have been affected by the attacks of October 7th as well bearing witness to the sites that the massacre occurred. But in addition to that aspect of his trip, the big man has already been working with Israel’s youth together with Tamir Goodman as he gives advice and pointers for life on and off of the basketball court to the next generation.

“The crazy thing is and I said this earlier in the day is that Tamir and I actually went to the same camp, NBPA Camp Top 100, way back when, 24 years ago, I believe. So the Jewish Jordan, I had a first look at him a long time ago. But it’s crazy how life can bring things full circle. Just being here, I actually told him that I’m proud of him and the work that he’s doing. Just being able to go to the school we went to today, see the smile on the kids’; faces, the teachers. It was actually inspiring for me too, it’s a constant reminder because you see so many people going through what they’re going through, but they have a big heart, they still find a way to smile or show love to somebody else. It’s really refreshing to see that type of imaging.”

Powell is in the line of great people and players who have come here to Israel over the years with Athletes for Israel and Project Max, be it All Stars and Hall of Famers. Great players, universities that have been here are truly a light onto the nations being here in the public eye, being very important to their sport, be it basketball or baseball or any other.

“Well, for me, one thing about me, as I mentioned before is being a servant. So I’m going to do my part as well. Anything that I can do to be of service, to help, to shed light or bring people or whatever needs to be done, I’l definitely be willing to do my part. Just because as a human being, it’s our duty. It’s not just about having friends here, but also having family here and just being a part of the culture regardless. I want to continue to learn more, continue to educate myself, just continue to do my part and if there’s anything that I can do. My phone is open and if there’s any way I can be of service, I’m here, I just want to help continue to move humanity forward in the right way, especially for the Israeli people.”

After attending North Carolina State, Powell began his career in Russia back in the early 2000’s but quickly hooked on with the Dallas Mavericks in 2005. The Charleston, South Carolina born Powell also featured for the Pacers, Warriors and Clippers before joining the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008 where he played alongside Kobe Bryant for two seasons which resulted in a pair of NBA Championships in what he described as being a very special group of players as he shared the ingredients that really led to their success.

“There was such a family feeling. I think that when you look at teams that make it and they win it, it’s not about x’s and o’s, as much as it is about unity. Having that chemistry and just being there for one another – the brotherhood. That’s a big thing. So, when you look at it, especially during the course of a season, these people are like your family. You’ll go as far as your family allows you to go and you’ll also fall if your family allows you to fall. So that’s a part of life and these are good life lessons. That’s the beautiful thing about sports, you know what I mean, is that it can bring people together.”

“As for those two seasons, I think from start to finish and I think from one to 15, we had everybody who was on the same page, we were sacrificing for one another, at the end of it all we knew that we wanted to win the championship. That has to do with those people being willing to make those kinds of sacrifices, to be dedicated to the goal, to be there for one another and then when things get tough, still being able to stick together. It’s easy for anyone to play nice or be good when everything is going the way they want, but you know, we had a lot of ups and downs. Those are the times that helped us create champions. We used that as fuel and motivation. So I think all-in-all, the leadership, the brotherhood, coming together, the work ethic, the discipline, the dedication, those were the things that helped us be successful.”

The success with the Lakers then carried over to Olympiacos as he was part of their Euroleague championship team from the 2012-13 campaign and became one of the few players who has won both an NBA Championship and a Euroleague title.

“There were a lot of great, great players on that Olympiacos team. I think one of the things that’s noticeable, is when you talk about winning, it has to be something that’s in you. Because a lot of people don’t understand what goes in, what guys have to sacrifice. I was coming into a situation, they had already won a year prior too. So me finding a role and just being able to fulfil that role to the best of my ability, that’s what creates championship teams. It wasn’t about me coming in and saying, what about me? It was about me saying, look, if you give me one minute, I’ll be a professional, if you give me 30 minutes I’m going to be a professional.

“So I think those are the things at the core, because when it is a mentality and attitude, it’s not like you can just wake up one day and just decide I’m going to do this, there’s a standard – a standard of excellence. For me, my story, my route and how I became a professional, is everything that allowed me to get the respect of my peers and the respect of every league that I played in and so on and so forth. So all the guys, you know, shout out to them, the Olympiacos team, just a bunch of great guys and the same thing when I talk about the Lakers teams, same thing with that team – chemistry, sacrifice, discipline, dedication, all of those things literally went same thing into that.

Finally, Powell wanted to send a message to the people of Israel and to the people abroad who are obviously concerned with the current climate here in the Holy Land.

“When you get people in a room and you get an opportunity to talk amongst each other you can see that there are so many similarities, then you can also see the things where there are differences – but that’s what communication is important. See, what’s happening in the States is, we see what we see on our phones, we see what we see on TV and we run with that. The same could go true for Israelis when it comes to how they’re viewed to the outside world. But when you get people into a room and get a chance to actually speak to one another, I feel like a lot of healing can be done.

“It doesn’t mean that we’re going to always agree, but I do think that love and support and just an understanding from one another can absolutely happen and it doesn’t matter if you’re black, it doesn’t matter if you’re white, it doesn’t matter if you’re Israeli, American or whatever, it’s just getting people in a room and having these conversations – that’s where the starting point is and the starting of healing happens.”