Amar’e Stoudemire To Return To Israeli Basketball, If No NBA Team Wants Him
Amar’e Stoudemire Image by Getty Images
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Former NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire will return to the Israeli Hapoel Jerusalem basketball team, if he does not secure a position in the NBA.
The team made the announcement Sunday, saying that the all-star’s return was conditioned on him not finding a spot on an NBA team.
Stoudemire played for the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns among other teams in a 16-year NBA career.
Stoudemire previously played for the team for a year, and left in September 2017, citing a desire to return to the NBA. Israeli media reported at the time that he had a rocky relationship with the Hapoel Jerusalem coach and his son was barred from playing on a local team because he is not an Israeli citizen.
Stoudemire is a partial owner of Hapoel, which he had to suspend in order to play.
During the 2016-2017 season, the team with his help won Israeli championships and reached the semifinals of the EuroCup tournament.
Stoudemire identifies with the Hebrew Israelites, African-Americans who believe they are connected to the biblical Israelites, and observes Jewish holidays. He told HBO sports reporter Jon Frankel at an event at Harvard University in April that he is “in the process” of converting.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
