Israel is known as the Holy Land and a place rich with history and culture, but what many people don’t know is that it is also home to high level basketball. Since 2000, Israel has been one of the biggest basketball hotbeds in Europe. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel’s top team, won Euroleague titles in 2001, 2004, and 2005, and reached the Euroleague title game in 2006 and 2008. They also produced NBA players Anthony Parker, Omri Casspi, Maceo Baston, and Sarunas Jasikevicius, and beat the Toronto Raptors in an exhibition game, 105-103, in 2005. Additionally, many NBA players including Jordan Farmar, Trevor Booker, J.J. Hickson, and Avery Bradley spent the lockout playing in Israel. I caught up with David Pick, a writer for Eurobasket.com covering the Euroleague and Israeli basketball, to talk about the lockout, the Israeli Super League, and LeBron James. Read More »

Speaking of the Euroleague, Spanish club Caja Laboral got some horrible news this week when they learned that Maciej Lampe – yes, that Maciej Lampe – will be sidelined for at least five months due to a hip injury. The former 30th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, who spent three seasons in the NBA with New York, Phoenix, New Orleans and Houston, signed a two-year deal with Laboral this summer. He will undergo surgery in the United States next week. And for all you Knicks fans out there, check out some recent highlights!

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In his three-year run at Stanford, Josh Childress never made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In his four years in the NBA, he played in just one playoff series. So we’re guessing Chill wasn’t quite prepared for the kind of postseason intensity he’s seeing in his first year in the Euroleague.

In the opening game of the best-of-five Greek League finals yesterday, Childress’ Olympiakos team lost to their rivals, Panathinaikos. But not before things got kind of crazy. Read More »