Amit Tamir ( he, עמית יוסף תמיר)(born December 2, 1979) is an Israeli professional basketball coach and former player. He is a 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) tall former
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
/
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
.
Biography
Amit Yosef Tamir was born in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
to Asher and Shula Tamir. He has two older sisters, Rozit and Gal, and a younger brother, Daniel. He attended Ort High School in Jerusalem. He served three years in the
Israeli Army
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...
.
He studied at the University of California Berkeley, where he was an American studies major.
Basketball career
Tamir started to play on
Hapoel Jerusalem
Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...
's youth team in 1997, and played on the professional team from 1998 until 2001.
He led his high school team to the Jerusalem high school title. He played for the Israeli under-22 team at the 1998 European Championships in Sicily. Playing for UC Berkeley, he earned both Pac-10 All-Academic and first team All-Pac-10 status in 2003. He was selected one of the Top 50 preseason candidates for the 2003-04 Wooden Award All-America team. He finished his career at Berkeley 4th in free-throw percentage (81.1%), and 6th in 3-point field goals made (136-373, 36.5%).
He was registered for the
2004 NBA Draft
The 2004 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2004, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and was broadcast live on ESPN at 7:00 pm ( EDT). In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur colle ...
and got praises by
Andre Iguodala
Andre Tyler Iguodala ( ; born January 28, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The swingman was an NBA All-Star in 2012 and has been named to t ...
about his abilities; he declined an offer by
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...
to be selected in the 2nd round and to be sent back to Europe and was not chosen by any franchise. He then played for
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...
in the NBA summer league but was not selected for the team.
He moved to Greece after college, where he played for PAOK Thessaloniki BC. He played in the 2004 ULEB Cup with that team. He played with
AEK Athens BC
AEK Basketball Club ( el, ΚΑΕ ΑΕΚ ; Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ''Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupóleos'', "Athletic Union of Constantinople"), also known as AEK B.C. or AEK, and more commonly kno ...
and
AEL 1964
Athlitiki Enosi Larissas ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λάρισας,e-ael.gr ''Athletic Union of Larissa''), foun ...
in 2005 and then moved back to Israel. There he played for Maccabi Givat Shmual. The team nearly qualified for the Final Four that year.
In the 2006/2007 season he played in Belgium for
Spirou Charleroi
Spirou Charleroi, commonly known simply as Spirou, is a Belgian professional basketball club that is located in Charleroi. The club competes in the BNXT League, the highest tier of basketball in Belgium. The club's home arena is the Spiroudome whi ...
. In 2007/2008 he started the season in
Cherkassy
Cherkasy ( uk, Черка́си, ) is a city in central Ukraine. Cherkasy is the capital of Cherkasy Oblast (province), as well as the administrative center of Cherkasky Raion (district) within the oblast. The city has a population of
Ch ...
from
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, but he was released and joined
Hapoel Holon
Hapoel Holon Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל הפועל חולון), known for sponsorship reasons as Hapoel Atsmon Playgrounds Holon (), is a professional basketball club based in Holon, Israel. The team plays in the Israeli B ...
Elitzur Ashkelon
Elitzur Ashkelon ( he, אליצור אשקלון) was a professional basketball team based in Ashkelon in south-west Israel. The team reached the quarterfinals of the EuroCup Challenge in 2006APOEL B.C. from
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
. In November 2010 he returned to play for
Hapoel Jerusalem B.C.
Hapoel Jerusalem Basketball Club ( he, מועדון כדורסל הפועל ירושלים), known for sponsorship reasons as Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem (הפועל בנק יהב ירושלים), is a professional basketball club based in t ...