Tal Burstein ( he, טל בורשטיין; born February 19, 1980) is an Israeli professional

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

and a former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played at the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

position, and also as a

swingman A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term “swingman” (a.k.a. “wing” or “guard-forward”) denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forwa ...

. He is 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) in height. He has also been named as one of the best Israeli basketball players ever.

Early life

Burstein is Jewish, and was born in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...

, Israel.

Professional career

Tal Burstein began his basketball career with the Bnei-Herzliya junior team. In the 1997–98 season, he made his professional debut and he was named the Israeli League Rookie of the Year. He became a team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

during the 1999–2000 season. In the 2001–02 season, he led the Israeli League in

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

percentage, shooting 49.4%. Beginning in the 2000–01 season, he played with

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 ...

. He became a starter in his first season in Tel Aviv. With the club, Burstein won 8 Israeli National Championships and 6 Israeli State Cups. He also won 3

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

championships with Maccabi, the 2001

FIBA SuproLeague The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

championship, and the EuroLeague championships in the years 2004 and 2005. After the 2008–09 season, Burstein left Maccabi Tel Aviv and signed with the Spanish team

Fuenlabrada Fuenlabrada () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,586, making it the region's fourth most populated municipality. Placename The etymology of ''Fuenlabrada'' comes from the contra ...

. A year later, Burstein returned to Maccabi, on a three-year contract. In August 2012, he announced his retirement from playing professional basketball, after learning that he would have to undergo surgery on his injured hip, which would cause him to miss the entire upcoming season.

National team career

Burstein has played for all of the Israeli junior national teams and also for the senior men's Israeli national basketball team. In August 2000, he was the

of the Israeli under-20 national team, which won a silver medal at the

FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The FIBA U20 European Championship, previously known as the European Championship for Men '22 and Under', is a men's youth basketball competition that was inaugurated with the 1992 edition. Through the 2004 edition, it was held biennially, but ...

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...

, Macedonia. In August 2001, Burstein was a member of the Israeli Under-22 national team at the

FIBA Under-21 World Championship The FIBA Under-21 World Championship was a men's under-21-only basketball competition organized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). It was known as the FIBA 22 & Under World Championship before FIBA lowered the age limit to 21 year ...

in Saitama, Japan, where his team finished in 7th place. He also played with the senior men's team, the

Israeli national basketball team The Israel men's national basketball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בכדורסל) represents Israel in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Israeli Basketball Association. Israel is currently ranked 33rd in the ...

at the

EuroBasket 2003 The 2003 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2003, was the 33rd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as the Europe qualifier for the 2004 Summer Olympics, giving a berth ...

, in Sweden, where his team finished in 7th place, and at the

EuroBasket 2005 The 2005 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2005, was the 34th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. It also served as Europe qualifier for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, giving a berth ...

. Burstein eventually also became the team captain on Israel's senior national team. During his time as a member of Israel's senior national team, he played as the national team's first

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

, and he could also play on the team as a

, if needed.

Coaching career

On June 29, 2017, Burstein returned to

, as an assistant

References

External links

Euroleague.net ProfileBasketball / Rejuvenated Veteran Guard Tal Burstein Takes Over the Reins of the National Team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burstein, Tal 1980 births Living people Israeli Jews Israeli men's basketball players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Bnei Hertzeliya basketball players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players Baloncesto Fuenlabrada players ABA League players Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Spain Israeli basketball coaches Jewish men's basketball players Liga ACB players Sportspeople from Petah Tikva Point guards Shooting guards