Josh Nebo joined Maccabi Tel Aviv on a one-year deal as the 6”9 center returns to Israel after a season with Zalgiris and will be familiar to the locals fans due to his time with hapoel Eilat two seasons ago.

“I’m excited to come back to Israel and join the special tradition of Maccabi,” Josh Nebo told said. “I will bring my effort and toughness to Tel Aviv. Let’s win!.”

“Josh Nebo is very athletic and a great rebounder,” noted head coach Oded Katash. “He is a very good defender in one-on-one situations and in team defense. He has a prior acquaintance with Israeli basketball and the EuroLeague, which is an important advantage. Josh is a player who has made progress each year and is on the way up.”

The Texas native played football growing up but later focused on basketball as he began to blossom during his college years at Saint Francis and then at Texas A&M. He went undrafted in 2020 and began his professional career down by the Red Sea in the Holy Land.

Nebo scored 13.6 points per game on 67% shooting from 2-points range and led the Israeli league with 10 rebounds per contest. He also was seventh both in blocks (1.1 per game) and efficiency rating (21.8) while also being selected to the All-League second team.

Josh Nebo – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman

He caught the eyes of the scouts and made the jump to the EuroLeague in 2021, when Zalgiris Kaunas signed him. In his maiden season in the top European league, Nebo started 17 out of 28 games and contributed 8.8 points (65% from 2-point range) and 6.2 rebounds (6th-best in the league). He also helped Zalgiris to the local cup with 7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.

WHO ARE YOU JOSH NEBO? Marius Milasius from 15min.lt breaks down the center’s season at Zalgiris

Josh is probably the most athletic player who has ever played for Žalgiris. Even Paulius Jankūnas, who played for Žalgiris for 18 years, said he never had such an athletic teammate.

Nebo didn’t take much time to become a fan favorite for his powerful dunks and blocks. He started the season really good and was the most valuable player of the team for some time. But as the season continued, there were more and more talks about his departure and his level of play dropped.

Josh Nebo – Photo Credit: Basket.co.il

He wasn’t as good at the end of the season and in the LKL playoffs he was barely a factor against players who earn 4-5 times less than him. He still does make some mental mistakes on defense, especially when somebody pump fakes him. He’s also not a good long range shooter. I think he made no more than 5-6 shots from outside the paint the whole season.

But he should be great with a good point guard and he’s an incredible finisher who can protect the rim really well. He’s also a good locker room guy, although a little bit quiet.