Hapoel Tel Aviv Basketball Club (Hebrew: מועדון כדורסל הפועל תל אביב) is an Israeli professional basketball club based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Historically, it is the second-most successful team in Israeli basketball, with five national championships. The club is owned by businessman Ofer Yannay and the Hapoel Tel Aviv Supporters Trust. The team was established in 1935, and it plays in the Israeli Premier League and in the EuroLeague.[1]
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Nickname | Hapoel The Reds The Red Devils | ||
| Leagues | Israeli Premier League EuroLeague | ||
| Founded | 1935 | ||
| Arena | Menora Mivtachim Arena | ||
| Capacity | 10,383 | ||
| Location | Tel Aviv, Israel | ||
| Team colors | Red, White | ||
| CEO | Arye Mendel | ||
| President | Rami Cohen (resigned) | ||
| General manager | Georgios Chinas | ||
| Head coach | Dimitrios Itoudis | ||
| Team captain | Bar Timor | ||
| Ownership | Ofer Yannai (81%) Fan association (19%) | ||
| Championships | 1 EuroCup 5 Israeli Championships 4 Israeli State Cups | ||
| Retired numbers | 1 (15) | ||
| Website | hapoeluta.org | ||
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History
editHapoel Tel Aviv was founded in 1935, as part of the Tel Aviv branch of the "Hapoel" sports cooperative, the sports department of the Histadrut labor union, which was socialist.[2][3][4][5] The 15 years following the foundation of the Israeli national league in 1954 were the golden age in the club's history. During that time, it won most of its trophies.[3]
In 1980, the club inaugurated its home venue of Hapoel Arena at Ussishkin Street (named for Menachem Ussishkin, a famous Zionist leader, which became the name of the new arena) in the northern part of Tel Aviv. This was in place of the open court that Hapoel had used for home games since 1953.[3] The uncomfortable conditions, along with the fact that Hapoel Tel Aviv's fans were considered among the most fanatic in Israeli sports, contributed to Ussishkin being known for an extremely hostile atmosphere for visiting teams.
In 1995, the Histadrut decided to suspend financial support of all its Hapoel sports teams. The club was sold to a group of private businessmen, and from 1998 until 2009 (with a short pause for the 2003–04 season), it was owned by Shaul Eizenberg, an Israeli businessman and former press officer of the Israel Football Association. Except for three years of financial support by Russian multi-millionaire Vladimir Gusinsky, Hapoel Tel Aviv consistently suffered from financial difficulties.[3] The result of this was an immediate deterioration in the club's stability, which led to relegation to the second league in 1996–97, 1998–99, and 2005–06.[3]
2005–06 season
editIn a controversial decision, Hapoel Tel Aviv decided to hold its home matches at Yad Eliyahu Arena. With its 10,383-seat capacity, it had been recognized for years to be the home of rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv. The decision followed a statement by club owner Shaul Eizenberg that Hapoel Tel Aviv must move to a larger arena in order to repeat its past glory days.[6] Contributing to this decision was a change in policy of local police and municipal authorities. They declared the Ussishkin Arena to be unsafe, and announced plans to demolish it and build a boardwalk in place of the arena. Despite a campaign by fans to preserve the arena , it was demolished in 2007.[7][4]
In 2006, Eizenberg decided to stop funding the team, and thus Hapoel Tel Aviv started the season in the second division. The situation wasn't improved in the following season; the team, built almost entirely of young players, was relegated to the third division, winning only two games all season. Although the team managed to stay in the Israeli first league, it played the 2006–07 season in the second league due to lack of funds. These issues, in addition to suffering managerial disorders, caused Hapoel Tel Aviv to finish last in the second league and it was relegated to the third division at the end of that season.[citation needed]
Hapoel Ussishkin period (2007–10)
edit
In summer 2007, after suffering bankruptcy and relegation to the fourth district, the new team, Hapoel Ussishkin, was founded and registered in the Israeli Liga Bet Dan District (fifth tier) by Maor Harel. Hapoel Tel Aviv was owned and run by a supporters' trust with 1,800 registered paying members (as of May 2011).[8][2] At that time, the admission fee to the trust was 300 NIS (equivalent to $90 USD). Besides voting rights in the trust's general assemblies, it also provides discount prices for club services such as a season ticket.
The team holds elections for the club's board every two years. In the second election in its history on June 11, 549 voters decided to keep four of the current board members in place for another term.
In December 2009, the original men's senior team announced its disbandment.[9] Immediately, the supporters' trust bought the rights to the Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. brand through a third party. The name change was approved by the trust in the following months,[10] with the team's promotion for the 2010–11 national league season.
During the 2007–08 season, backed with an astronomical[citation needed] budget in fifth-tier terms of over 300,000 NIS (equivalent to $100,000 USD), the team finished its first season with a perfect record of 22–0 and qualified to the fourth division. The club also won another title by taking the Israeli Fifth Division Union Cup, continuing their undefeated streak. During the 2008–09 season, they finished with a perfect record, 22–0, and the team qualified for the third division. On April 30, 2009, the team won the Israeli fourth and third Division Union Cup, defeating the Hapoel Kfar Saba in the final game. Before the 2009–10 season started, it was decided that Hapoel Ussishkin would not play in the same district as Hapoel Tel Aviv, which played in the third division as well, thus avoiding an intriguing match-up. The team qualified to Liga Leumit (second division) with a perfect record and won the Israeli 4th and 3rd Division Union Cup, winning over the Elitzur Kohav-Yair/Keffar-Sabba in the final game.
Hapoel Ussishkin Honors
editLiga Artzit (3rd)
- Winners: 2010 (North Division)
Liga Alef (4th)
- Winners: 2009 (Merkaz Division)
Liga Bet (5th)
- Winners: 2008 (Tel-Aviv Division)
- Champions (2): 2009, 2010
- Champions (1): 2008
Players of the Year
edit
The Player of the Year award is voted for by fans in time for the final home game of the season. Previous winners have been:
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Hapoel Tel Aviv (2011–present)
editAt the end of 2009–10 season, following the closing of the original Hapoel Tel Aviv club, the rights to the club name were purchased by an anonymous businessman, and given to the Hapoel Ussishkin Management. The Management of Hapoel Ussishkin, following a member-wide voting process, decided to rename the club name back to Hapoel Tel Aviv. In the 2010–11 season, the club reached the semi-finals of the State Cup, before being knocked out by Elitzur Netanya. The club failed to achieve promotion to the first division at the end of the 2010–11 season, following a loss in the playoffs finals to B.C. Habik'a.
In the 2011–12 season, Hapoel Tel Aviv finally achieved promotion to the First Division, following a playoff win over Maccabi Be'er Ya'akov, therefore returning to the top tier after six years, and being the first fan-owned club in Israel to participate in a top-tier league.
From 2014 to 2017, Tamir Blatt played for the team. In March 2016, NBA star Nate Robinson signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv for the remainder of the season.[11] Robinson led the team to the 8 seed and helped them to qualify for the playoffs. On May 19, Robinson scored 46 points in a quarter-final game against Hapoel Jerusalem, the most points scored in a playoff game since 1985.[12]
In the 2024–25 season, Hapoel doubled its budget to 70-80 million NIS (equivalent to €16.8 million- €19.2 million).[13] It acquired a range of high-profile players, including NBA veterans Patrick Beverley,[14] Bruno Caboclo and Johnathan Motley. The team's management expressed their goal to win the EuroCup that season. Beverley left the team in February 2025.[15] In April, the team had won the EuroCup and earned a promotion to the EuroLeague for the following 2025–26 season.
Towards the 2025–26 season, the team signed several more high-profile players, such as Vasilije Micic, Daniel Oturu and Elijah Bryant. In addition, Hapoel Tel Aviv retained Antonio Blakeney and Ish Wainright, who were significant factors in their promotion to the EuroLeague.
Rivalries
editRivalry with Maccabi Tel Aviv
editFor years Hapoel and Maccabi Tel Aviv were considered the top two clubs of Israeli basketball. The Local derby matches between the two teams were always considered to be the most prestigious games in Israeli sports, and ones which led to a bitter atmosphere between fans of both clubs, often resulting in acts of mutual violence and hooliganism.
The tension between both clubs reached its peak in the 1980s. During this era they met for several times in the league's play-off finals and state cup finals. Probably the most famous meeting came in the best-of-three League Championship Finals in April 1985. Hapoel Tel Aviv won the first game in convincing fashion, leading by as much as 25 points late in the second half. Mike Largey always played well against Maccabi Tel Aviv, having beaten them five times in the four years that he played for Hapoel Tel Aviv. Prior to his arrival, Hapoel Tel Aviv had not beaten Maccabi Tel Aviv in 17 straight games. The Hapoel Tel Aviv fans were very confident that this was their year to win the League Championship. The second game started with Largey picking up where he left off from the first game. Then, towards the beginning of the second half, after play had stopped for a loose ball foul, Maccabi Tel Aviv's Motti Aroesti shoved his hand into the face of Largey. Largey responded immediately and threw Aroesti to the ground. Afterward, both players were ejected from the game and were automatically suspended from playing in Game 3. Largey was far more valuable to Hapoel Tel Aviv then Aroesti was to Maccabi Tel Aviv and, not surprisingly, Maccabi Tel Aviv went on to win Games 2 and 3. To this day, most Hapoel Tel Aviv fans are convinced that Maccabi Tel Aviv planned this provocation as a way to deal with its nemesis. These matches are still regarded as of the most exciting in Israeli basketball history.
During the years as Maccabi Tel Aviv strengthened its dominance in Israeli basketball and its status as the almost-eternal champions, "Hapoel" fans accused their rival's management of various wrongful doing.
Players
editCurrent roster
edit| Hapoel Tel Aviv roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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EuroLeague Depth chart
edit| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Bench 3 | Inactive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Daniel Oturu | Johnathan Motley | Tai Odiase | Itay Segev | |
| PF | Ish Wainright | Tomer Ginat | |||
| SF | Elijah Bryant | Kessler Edwards | Collin Malcolm | Oz Blayzer | |
| SG | Antonio Blakeney | Levi Randolph | Keandre Cook | Guy Palatin | |
| PG | Vasilije Micić | Chris Jones | Yam Madar | Bar Timor | Tyler Ennis  |
Ligat HaAl Depth chart
edit| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench |
|---|---|---|
| C | Tai Odiase | Johnathan Motley |
| PF | Tomer Ginat | Itay Segev |
| SF | Collin Malcolm | Oz Blayzer |
| SG | Bar Timor | Guy Palatin |
| PG | Yam Madar | Yiftach Ziv |
- The Israeli league rule requires every team to have at least one Israeli on the court at any time.
- There should be at least 7 Israelis and up to 5 foreigners on a 12-men game sheet.
Notable players
editNote: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
| Criteria |
|---|
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To appear in this section a player must have either:
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Haim Hazan 13 seasons: '53–'66- Zvi Lubezki 15 seasons: '56–'71
- Rami Gutt 13 seasons: '59–'72
- Gershon Dekel 14 seasons: '61–'75
Bill Wold 3 seasons: '66–'68- Mark Torenshine 9 seasons: '68–'77
- Barry Leibowitz 11 seasons: '68–'69, '71–'82
- Ivan Leshinsky 4 seasons: '68–'71
- Patrick Beverley 1 season: '24–'25
- Dave Newmark 2 seasons: '73–'74, '77–'78
- Danny Bracha 11 seasons: '73–'84
- Pinchas Hozez 11 seasons: '74–'85
- John Willis 8 seasons: '76–'82, '84–'85, '86–'87
- Boaz Yanai 1 season: '79–'80
- LaVon Mercer 8 seasons: '80–'88
- Kenny Labanowski 4 seasons: '81–'85
- Amos Frishman 11 seasons: '81–'89, '90–'93
- Mike Largey 4 seasons: '83–'87
- Ofer Fleischer 6 seasons: '84–'87, '93–'95, '98–'99
- Shimon Amsalem 10 seasons: '85–'94, '98–'99
- Jon Dalzell 2 seasons: '87–'88, '91–'92
- Haim Zlotikman 2 seasons: '87–'88, '92–'93
- Linton Townes 2 seasons: '87–'89
- Howard Lassoff 3 seasons: '87–'90
- Dennis Williams 2 seasons: '88–'90
- Keith Bennett 3 seasons: '88–'91
- James Terry 4 seasons: '88–'89, '90–'91, '94–'96
- Derrick Hamilton 1 season: '89
- Mike Gibson 1 season: '90
- David Henderson 1 season: '90–'91
- Doug Lee 1 season: '91–'92
- Purvis Short 1 season: '91–'92
- David Thirdkill 3 seasons: '91–'94
- Tomer Steinhauer 3 seasons: '91–'94
- Terry Fair 1 season: '92–'93
Radenko Dobraš 3 seasons: '92–'93, '95, '00–'01- Lior Arditi 2 seasons: '93–'95
- Meir Tapiro 2 seasons: '94–'96
- Buck Johnson 1 season: '94–'95
- Milt Wagner 1 season: '94–'95
- Nenad Marković 1 season: '95–'96
- Gil Mossinson 6 seasons: '95–'98, '02–'03, '04–'06
- Kevin Bradshaw 3 seasons: '96–'99
- Dror Hagag 3 seasons: '01–'04
- Cedric Ceballos 1 season: '02
- Chris King 1 season: '02–'03
- Billy Keys 1 season: '02–'03
Nikola Bulatović 1 season: '02–'03- Yaniv Green 2 seasons: '02–'04
- Matan Naor 12 seasons: '02–'04, '07–'17
Virginijus Praškevičius 1 season: '03–'04
Jasmin Hukić 1 season: '03–'04
Michael Wright 1 season: '03–'04- William Avery 1 season: '04
- Samo Udrih 1 season: '04–'05
- Kenny Williams 1 season: '04–'05
- Marcus Hatten 1 season: '05–'06
- Jeron Roberts 1 season: '05–'06
- Bar Timor 4 seasons: '11–'13, '20–present
- Curtis Kelly 3 seasons: '11–'13, '15
Jonathan Skjöldebrand 4 seasons: '11–'15- Jeff Allen 3 seasons: '12–'13, '15–'16, '17
- Brian Randle 1 season: '13
- Carlon Brown 1 season: '13–'14
- Raviv Limonad 6 seasons: '13–'19
- Yancy Gates 1 season: '14–'15
Durand Scott 1 season: '14–'15- Tamir Blatt 3 seasons: '14–'17
- Tre Simmons 1 season: '15–'16
- Nate Robinson 1 season: '16
- Mark Lyons 2 seasons: '16–'17, '19–present
- Alando Tucker 1 season: '16–'17
- Adrian Banks 2 seasons: '16–'18
- Richard Howell 2 seasons: '16–'17, '18–'19
- Tomer Ginat 4 seasons: '16–present
- Tony Gaffney 1 season: '17–'18
- Jerel McNeal 2 seasons: '17–'19
- Jamal Shuler 1 season: '18–'19
Season by season
edit| Season | Tier | Division | Pos. | State Cup | Other cups | European competitions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 2 | National League | 1st | Quarterfinalist | |||||
| 2002–03 | 1 | Premier League | 7th | Semifinalist | 4 Champions Cup | QF | 11–7 | ||
| 2003–04 | 2nd | Semifinalist | 3 Europe League | 3rd | 14–5 | ||||
| 2004–05 | 2nd | Quarterfinalist | 3 Europe League | EF | 8–8 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 5th | Quarterfinalist | 3 EuroCup | RS | 2–4 | ||||
| 2006–07 | 2 | National League | 14th | Eightfinalist | |||||
| 2007–08 | 5 | Liga Bet | 1st | Liga Bet Association Cup | C | ||||
| 2008–09 | 4 | Liga Alef | 1st | Association Cup | C | ||||
| 2009–10 | 3 | Liga Artzit | 1st | Association Cup | C | ||||
| 2010–11 | 2 | National League | 2nd | Semifinalist | |||||
| 2011–12 | 1st | Quarterfinalist | R Balkan League | SF | 8–3 | ||||
| 2012–13 | 1 | Premier League | 8th | Eightfinalist | |||||
| 2013–14 | 5th | Semifinalist | League Cup | QF | |||||
| 2014–15 | 7th | Quarterfinalist | League Cup | SF | |||||
| 2015–16 | 8th | Eightfinalist | League Cup | SF | |||||
| 2016–17 | 10th | Eightfinalist | League Cup | QF | |||||
| 2017–18 | 5th | Quarterfinalist | League Cup | QF | |||||
| 2018–19 | 8th | Quarterfinalist | 3 Champions League | QR1 | 1–1 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 8th | Eightfinalist | League Cup | QF | |||||
| 2020–21 | 10th | Quarterfinalist | Balkan League | 2RPO | 3 Champions League | QR1 | 0–1 | ||
| 2021–22 | 7th | Finalist | League Cup | QF | |||||
| 2022–23 | 2nd | Quarterfinalist | League Cup | 2nd | 2 EuroCup | QF | 14–6 | ||
| 2023–24 | 2nd | Quarterfinalist | League Cup | SF | 2 EuroCup | QF | 13–6 | ||
| 2024–25 | 3rd | Semifinalist | League Cup | QF | 2 EuroCup | C | 17–7 | ||
Managerial history
edit_(cropped).jpg)
- Ami Shelef (1936–1988)
| Dates | Manager |
| 2007–2009 | Uri Shelef |
| 2009–2011 | Sharon Avrahami |
| 2011–2014 | Erez Edelstein |
| 2014–2015 | Oded Kattash |
| 2015–2017 | Sharon Avrahami |
| 2017 | Rami Hadar |
| 2017 | Roy Hagai |
| 2017–2019 | Danny Franco |
| 2019–2020 | Ariel Beit-Halahmy |
| 2020–2021 |  Ioannis Kastritis |
| 2021–2024 | Danny Franco |
| 2024 | Stefanos Dedas |
| 2024– | Dimitrios Itoudis |
Staff
edit| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Rami Cohen |
| CEO | Arye Mendel |
| Board Member | Abraham Zaidenberg |
| Team Manager | Etay Berger |
| Spokesperson | Etay Berger |
Honours
editDomestic competitions
edit- Winners (5): 1959–60, 1960–61, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1968–69
- Runners-up (22): 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2022–23, 2023–24
- Winners (4): 1961–62, 1968–69, 1983–84, 1992–93
- Runners-up (13): 1955–56, 1957–58, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1982–83, 1993–94, 2022
Lower divisions competitions
editIsraeli National League (2nd)
European competitions
editFormer managers
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Books about Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C." Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
- 1 2 Sport, Politics and Society in the Middle East, 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Ultras Hapoel Tel Aviv - Since 1999". ultrashapoel.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- 1 2 "Fall from Glory". The Jerusalem Post. December 20, 2006. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- ↑ Galily, Yair (2003). "Playing Hoops in Palestine: The Early Development of Basketball in the Land of Israel, 1935-56". The International Journal of the History of Sport. 20 (1): 143–151. doi:10.1080/714001851. S2CID 145734671 – via www.academia.edu.
- ↑ "Fall from Glory | The Jerusalem Post". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. December 20, 2006. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
- ↑ Aharoni, Keren (November 20, 2008). "The Ten Extinct Places of Tel Aviv" (in Hebrew). Mynet. Archived from the original on December 23, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
- ↑ "Hapoel Tel Aviv BC - TheSportsDB.com". www.thesportsdb.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- ↑ הפועל ת'א הודיעה רשמית על התפרקותה Archived July 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (in Hebrew)
- ↑ שינוי שם קבוצת הפועל אוסישקין Archived July 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (in Hebrew)
- ↑ "Nate Robinson agrees to deal with Hapoel Tel Aviv". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- ↑ Holroyd, Caitlyn (May 20, 2016). "Watch: Nate Robinson puts up 46 points in Israeli League playoff game". theScore.com.
- ↑ "Hapoel Tel Aviv budget revealed". basketnews.com. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
- ↑ "Patrick Beverley leaving NBA to sign with Hapoel Tel Aviv after they made him an offer he 'couldn't refuse'". CBSSports.com. July 16, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
- ↑ "Patrick Beverley leaves Hapoel Tel-Aviv". basketnews.com. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
External links
edit- Official website (in Hebrew)
- Unofficial Blog in English
- Hapoel Tel Aviv Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Safsal.co.il coverage