In the 1980s and the early 1990s, the Israeli League stars played in Israel against the
Phoenix Suns,
Cleveland Cavaliers,
Orlando Magic, and
Los Angeles Lakers. In October 2005,
Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated the
Toronto Raptors 105–103 in an exhibition game played in
Toronto,
Canada; this was the first victory for any European or Israeli team over an NBA team on its home court. Over the years, many of its players joined the NBA. In 2009,
Omri Casspi became the first Israeli-born NBA player with the
Sacramento Kings. Prior to that, three players were drafted:
Doron Sheffer (who played
U.S. college basketball at
Connecticut),
Yotam Halperin and
Lior Eliyahu.
Oded Kattash agreed to play with the
New York Knicks, but he never played in the NBA because of the
1998–99 NBA lockout that started on July 1, 1998. In the
2009 NBA draft,
Omri Casspi was selected 23rd overall by the
Sacramento Kings, and
Gal Mekel followed in 2013 by signing with
Dallas Mavericks. In 2016,
Dragan Bender became the highest selection from the Israeli Basketball Premier League to be selected in an NBA draft with the
Phoenix Suns taking him at 4th overall. Other players who have moved from the league to the NBA include:
Will Bynum,
Anthony Parker,
Joe Ingles,
Roger Mason Jr.,
P. J. Tucker,
Eugene "Pooh" Jeter,
Elijah Bryant,
Carlos Arroyo, and
Nate Robinson. In 2016,
Amar'e Stoudemire retired from the NBA. Then, on August 1, 2016, he signed a two-year deal with
Hapoel Jerusalem, a team he co-owns. On October 1, 2016, he helped Hapoel Jerusalem win the
2016 Israeli Basketball League Cup. He also played for Maccabi Tel Aviv during the 2019–20 season, helping them win the
2019–20 Israeli Basketball Premier League championship. He was named MVP of the championship game. In 2020, two players declared for the NBA draft. The first being
Deni Avdija from Maccabi Tel Aviv and the second being
Yam Madar from Hapoel Tel Aviv. Avdija was selected in the first round, 9th overall, by the Washington Wizards, and Madar was taken in the second round with the 47th pick of the draft by the Boston Celtics. ==High-profile American Jewish recruits==