Tal Michael Dunne ( he, טל דן; born 25 February 1987) is a Wales-born Israeli former

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 for

Ironi Nes Ziona Ironi Ness Ziona B.C. (or spelled as Ironi Nes Ziona B.C.) is a professional basketball club based in Ness Ziona, Israel. The team plays its home games at the Lev Hamoshava, which has capacity for 1,200 people. The club plays in the Israeli Bask ...

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

Early life

Dunne was born in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, to a

Jewish 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""The ...

family. Dunne lived his first 3 years in the United Kingdom, before

immigrating Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

with his family to

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 ...

to grow up in the city of

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ar ...

. He played for Maccabi Rishon LeZion youth team and the Gymnasia Realit high school team.

Professional career

Early years (2005–2011)

In 2005, Dunne started his professional career with Maccabi Rishon LeZion. On October 23, 2005, he made his professional debut in a match against

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

. In 2006, Dunne was loaned to

Maccabi Ashdod Maccabi Ashdod B.C. ( he, מכבי אשדוד) is a professional basketball team based in the port city of Ashdod, Israel. The team currently plays in the Israeli National League. History The team was founded in 1961 by "Maccabi Ashdod Sports ...

of the

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

. In 17 games played for Ashdod, Dunne averaged 16.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. On February 14, 2010, Dunne returned to Maccabi Ashdod for a second stint, signing for the rest of the season. On August 31, 2010, Dunne signed with Hapoel Afula for the 2010–11 season.

Ironi Nes Ziona (2011–2022)

On October 20, 2011, Dunne returned to

for a second stint. In his second season with Nes Ziona, Dunne helped them to promote to the

for the first time in their history. He was named Finals MVP. In 23 games played during the 2012–13 season, Dunne averaged 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. On July 4, 2013, Dunne signed a two-year contract extension with Nes Ziona. On November 24, 2014, Dunne recorded a career-high 29 points, shooting 12-of-19 from the field, along with six rebounds and six assists in an 87–83 win over

Ironi Nahariya Ironi Nahariya Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל עירוני נהריה; ) known for sponsorship reasons as Ironi Rain Nahariya () is a professional basketball club based in city of Nahariya in northern Israel. The team plays in t ...

. On June 22, 2016, Dunne signed a three-year contract extension with Nes Ziona. That season, Dunne helped Nes Ziona to promote to the Premier League after they swept

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The c ...

3–0 in the best-of-five series. In his seventh season with Nes Ziona, Dunne helped them to reach the 2018 Israeli League Playoffs, where they eventually lost to

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 ...

. On December 15, 2018, Dunne recorded a season-high 20 points, shooting 9-of-14 from the field, along with eight rebounds, six assists and two steals, leading Nes Ziona to an 88–78 win over

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 ...

. He was subsequently named Israeli League Round 10 MVP. On January 1, 2019, Dunne was named Israeli League Player of the Month after averaging 14.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists in three games played in December. On July 1, 2019, Dunne signed a two-year contract extension with Nes Ziona.

Israel national team

Dunne was a member of the Israeli U-18 and U-20 national teams.

References

External links

RealGM profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Tal 1987 births Living people British Jews British people of Israeli descent Hapoel Afula players Ironi Ashkelon players Ironi Nes Ziona B.C. players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Israeli Jews Israeli men's basketball players Jewish men's basketball players Maccabi Ashdod B.C. players Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards Sportspeople from Aberystwyth Welsh Jews Welsh men's basketball players Welsh people of Israeli descent