David Blu (born David Bluthenthal; July 18, 1980) is an American–Israeli former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player, who spent 10 seasons playing in the EuroLeague. Standing at , he played at the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular c ...

and power forward positions. He is considered to be one of the top three-point shooters in EuroLeague history. He was also the 2011 Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP. He also represented the senior Israeli national team in 2010.

Early life

Blu was born in Los Angeles, California, and is Jewish. His mother was

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish, and his

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

father converted to

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

. He represented the United States at the

1997 Maccabiah Games The 15th Maccabiah Games are remembered for being marred by a Maccabiah bridge collapse, bridge collapse that killed several participants. The Maccabiah had more than 5,000 athletes from 33 countries competing in 36 sports. New sports for the Game ...

, winning a gold medal. Blu attended Palms Middle School, and Venice High School and Westchester High School.

College career

Blu attended the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

(USC), which was founded by his great-great-granduncle,

Isaias Hellman Isaias Wolf Hellman (October 3, 1842 – April 9, 1920) was a German-born American banker and philanthropist, and a founding father of the University of Southern California. Early life Hellman was born in Reckendorf, Bavaria on October 3, 1842. ...

. A starter from his sophomore season on, he was consistently one of the top players in the

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

. In 2001–02, his senior season, Blu was named All-Pac 10 honorable mention. He averaged 12.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He left school in 2002, to pursue a career in professional basketball. His most memorable performance remains the 27 points he scored against

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

, in an NCAA regional semifinal upset in 2001, made by the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

team that was led by Blu.

Professional career

Maccabi Tel Aviv

After Blu completed his 4 years of college athletics eligibility, he decided to play professional basketball in Europe, and signed with

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i professional team

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

, of the EuroLeague. During two years with Maccabi Tel Aviv (2002–04), he helped the team to the EuroLeague championship in 2004, and to the Israeli National Cup title twice. He scored 20 points off the bench, in the 2004 EuroLeague Final, a 44-point Maccabi annihilation of one of the best team in Europe, Fortitudo Bologna. Following the 2004 season, Blu was signed by the NBA's

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

, on August 7, 2004, but he was released in November, before the 2004–05 season started.

Dynamo St. Petersburg

Following his release from

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, Blu received an offer from the Russian team

BC Dynamo Saint Petersburg BC Dynamo Saint Petersburg was a Russian professional basketball club based in Saint Petersburg, that existed for two seasons. The club was founded in 2004 and dissolved in 2006. In the 2004–05 season, the club won the FIBA Europe League. His ...

, that had just signed David Blatt, who was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other Coach (sport), coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manage ...

of Maccabi Tel Aviv, during the time that Blu was there. In 8 games played in the Russian Basketball Super League A, he shot 69.6% from 2-point range.

Italian teams

After two months in Russia, Blu went to Italy, to play for Benetton Treviso. He shot over 60% from 2-point range, and over 51% from 3-point range, in the Italian League. In the summer of 2005, he signed with

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

, and became one of their top players, with a scoring average of 20.2 points per game in the Italian League. After the 2005–06 season, he signed with Virtus' intense crosstown rivals, Fortitudo. During the 2006–07 season, for Fortitudo, he averaged 16 points and 4.2 rebounds in EuroLeague play, and also made 46.8% of his two-point shots, and 53.3% of his three-pointers.

Second stint with Maccabi

On June 15, 2007, Blu returned from Fortitudo, to

. He averaged 8.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in 25 EuroLeague games for Maccabi, as they advanced to the

EuroLeague Finals The EuroLeague Finals are the championship finals of the EuroLeague competition. The EuroLeague is the highest level tier, and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe. Title holders * ......1958 Rīgas ASK * 1958� ...

, against winners

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...

Le Mans

On July 10, 2008, Blu signed a one-year deal with

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

. Over 10 games in the EuroLeague, he averaged 12.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Third stint with Maccabi

In the summer of 2009, Blu yet again returned to Israel, and signed a one-year contract with

. He finished the 2010–11 season with averages of 8.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in the EuroLeague, and 10.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in the

Israeli Super League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

. He named the 2011 Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP. In July 2011, Maccabi extended Blu's contract for another year. In June 2012, Blu retired for the first time, in order to complete his college education in the USA. After graduating college in the summer of 2013, Blu signed a new contract with

. Following his comeback, after an up and down season, Maccabi won the 2014 EuroLeague championship, the sixth in the club's history, and his second. Over the season, he averaged 10.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, over 30 games played in the EuroLeague. In the EuroLeague Final Four, he helped his team oust

in the semifinals, by scoring 15 points, with some crucial three-pointers. In the championship finals game, against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, he scored 14 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. Once the season ended, Blu announced his retirement from playing professional basketball.

National team career

In the summer of 2010, Blu represented

, and he made his first appearance with them against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

, on July 19, 2010. Blu also competed with the senior Israeli national team at the

EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted the 1939 cha ...

, where he averaged 12.8 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game.

Accolades

In 2006 he was inducted into the

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distinguished themselves ...

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, Maccabi , 14 , , 0 , , 11.1 , , .522 , , .368 , , .700 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , .3 , , .0 , , 4.4 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2003–04† , 17 , , 0 , , 10.2 , , .609 , , .462 , , .789 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .2 , , .1 , , 6.2 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;", Benetton , 10 , , 0 , , 18.1 , , .393 , , .276 , , .500 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .8 , , .3 , , 5.8 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;", Climamio , 14 , , 10 , , 31.7 , , .491 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", .533 , , .828 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .1 , , 16.0 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi , 25 , , 18 , , 21.0 , , .488 , , .456 , , .929 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , .3 , , .1 , , 8.7 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 8 , , 32.9 , , .413 , , .360 , , .913 , , 3.8 , , 1.1 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 12.5 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=4, Maccabi , 19 , , 1 , , 23.6 , , .409 , , .363 , , .880 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .1 , , 9.3 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 22 , , 1 , , 23.0 , , .448 , , .432 , , .727 , , 3.1 , , .6 , , .8 , , .1 , , 8.9 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , 20 , , 6 , , 24.6 , , .447 , , .375 , , .880 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , .6 , , .0 , , 9.3 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2013–14† , 30 , , 6 , , 24.8 , , .433 , , .406 , , .816 , , 3.2 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .0 , , 10.1 , , 8.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 181 , , 50 , , 22.1 , , .457 , , .411 , , .833 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .5 , , .1 , , 9.1 , , 7.2

References

External links

David Blu
at draftexpress.com
David Blu
at eurobasket.com
David Blu
at euroleague.net

at nba.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blu, David 1980 births Living people ABA League players African-American basketball players African-American Jews American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Russia American men's basketball players Maccabiah Games medalists in basketball Basketball players from Los Angeles BC Dynamo Saint Petersburg players Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Israeli American Israeli Jews Israeli men's basketball players Jewish men's basketball players Le Mans Sarthe Basket players Maccabiah Games basketball players of the United States Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Competitors at the 1997 Maccabiah Games Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players Pallacanestro Treviso players Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards USC Trojans men's basketball players Virtus Bologna players Westchester High School (Los Angeles) alumni Venice High School (Los Angeles) alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century American Jews 20th-century African-American people