Lior Eliyahu ( he, לִיאוֹר אֱלִיָּהוּ; born 9 September 1985) is an 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. He is 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) in height and he weighs 105 kg (225 pounds). He plays at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

position. He was named the 2012 and 2015

Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP The Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP, or Israeli Basketball Super League MVP, is an annual basketball award that is presented to the most valuable player in a given season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier level ...

Early life

Eliyahu is Jewish, and was born in

Ramat-Gan Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and many ...

, Israel.

Professional career

Eliyahu grew up in the youth system of

Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan ( he, מכבי עירוני רמת גן, formerly Ironi Ramat Gan) is a professional basketball club based in Ramat Gan in central Israel. The team currently plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top division ...

, but moved to Galil for the 2004–05 season, in order to further his career. The move paid off when, under the guidance of Oded Katash, Eliyahu made great strides in improving his game. After the 2005–06 season, Eliyahu entered the 2006 NBA draft, a move criticized by Hanoch Mintz, Eliyahu's coach during his time in Ramat Gan. In pre-draft camps in Europe, Eliyahu impressed along with fellow Israeli

Yotam Halperin Yotam Halperin ( he, יותם הלפרין; born January 24, 1984) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He is currently the sporting director for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Premier League and the Champions League. He is a 1. ...

and when the camp was finished in

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Ven ...

, Italy, both had dramatically climbed the mock draft charts. He also impressed during matches between Maccabi Tel Aviv and NBA teams. During the EuroLeague 2006–07 season, Eliyahu averaged 10.8 points per game. In December 2008, Eliyahu became the first Israeli to be named the

EuroLeague MVP of the Month The EuroLeague MVP of the Month is the award of Europe's premier level basketball league, the EuroLeague, for the most valuable player of each month of the season. The award began in the 2004–05 season, after the EuroLeague eliminated the Eur ...

during the season. He recorded a double double in all three games he played during December. Overall for the 2008–09 EuroLeague season, Eliyahu averaged 14.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. In 2009, Eliyahu signed a 4-year contract worth

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

6 million euros net income with the Spanish League club

Caja Laboral Caja Laboral Popular Cooperativa de Crédito or Caja Laboral (Workers' Credit Union) was a Spanish credit union established in 1959 as part of the Mondragon Corporation and headquartered in Mondragón, in the Basque Country of Spain. The major ...

and he won the Spanish national championship with his new team in 2010, scoring 18 points in the deciding game against then EuroLeague champions

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. In September 2010, he returned 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 ...

, signing a five-year contract. He was named the 2012

. In November 2013, he signed a three-year deal with

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 ...

. In 2015, helped the club win its first-ever Israeli championship. He was named the 2015

. In 2017, Eliyahu took another championship with Hapoel Jerusalem. In January 2016, signed a three-year extension to his contract with Hapoel Jerusalem. On 10 May 2018, Eliyahu recorded a career-high 15 assists, along with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals in a 92–73 win over Hapoel Eilat. He was subsequently named Israeli League Round 30 MVP. On 23 August 2018, Eliyahu was named Hapoel Jerusalem's new team captain, replacing

. On 26 July 2019, Eliyahu signed with

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 Sport ...

for the 2019–20 season, joining his former head coach Brad Greenberg. On 21 October 2019, Eliyahu recorded a season-high 22 points, shooting 10-of-15 from the field, along with seven rebounds and seven assists, leading Ashdod to an 83–76 win over Hapoel Tel Aviv. He was subsequently named Israeli League Round 3 MVP.

NBA draft rights

On 28 June 2006, he made national headlines in Israel by being selected by the Orlando Magic with the 44th pick of the 2006 NBA draft. He was later traded to the Houston Rockets for cash considerations. On 26 June 2012, the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

traded the 18th overall pick of the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Asso ...

, to the Houston Rockets, in exchange for

Chase Budinger Chase Andrew Budinger (born May 22, 1988) is an American professional volleyball player and former professional basketball player. He was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 44th overall pick in 2009 NBA draft after playing three years of c ...

and the draft rights to Eliyahu. On 9 July 2019, his draft rights were traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for

Treveon Graham Treveon Graham (born October 28, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the VCU Rams men's basketball, VCU Rams. High school career Graham played high sc ...

and

Shabazz Napier Shabazz Bozie Napier (born July 14, 1991) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player for Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He was drafted 24th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2014 NBA dr ...

Israel national team

Eliyahu was a member of the senior Israel national team at the 2007, 2009, 2011,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, 2015, and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

EuroBasket tournaments. On 8 May 2018, Eliyahu announced his decision to retire from the Israel national team.

Awards and accomplishments

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 ...

: All Tournament Team ( 2005) *

EuroChallenge FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...

: All-Star (2006)

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=3,

, 22 , , 15 , , 21.2 , , .575 , , .000 , , .653 , , 5.3 , , 1.3 , , .9 , , .5 , , 10.8 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , 18 , , 5 , , 10.1 , , .549 , , .000 , , .591 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .1 , , 3.8 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , 16 , , 9 , , 26.5 , , .624 , , .000 , , .667 , , 6.6 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , .3 , , 14.0 , , 17.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;",

, 15 , , 4 , , 18.4 , , .632 , , .000 , , .400 , , 3.4 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .3 , , 8.4 , , 11.1 , - , 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. ...

, style="text-align:left;" rowspan=3, Maccabi Tel Aviv , 21 , , 21 , , 20.3 , , .601 , , .200 , , .739 , , 3.8 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , .5 , , 10.9 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , 20 , , 15 , , 18.2 , , .566 , , 1.000 , , .542 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .1 , , 8.5 , , 8.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012–13 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 ...

, 23 , , 10 , , 17.2 , , .483 , , .000 , , .800 , , 3.1 , , 2.1 , , .7 , , .2 , , 7.3 , , 8.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 135 , , 79 , , 18.9 , , .568 , , .125 , , .650 , , 4.0 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .3 , , 9.1 , , 10.6

EuroCup

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

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 ...

, 15 , , 14 , , 25.2 , , .500 , , .000 , , .267 , , 4.7 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .5 , , 9.6 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 10 , , 25.0 , , .515 , , .000 , , .533 , , 3.2 , , 2.1 , , 1 , , .4 , , 10.8 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 13 , , 12 , , 21.9 , , .485 , , .000 , , .556 , , 4.9 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .2 , , 10.5 , , 10.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 19 , , 6 , , 15.5 , , .513 , , .000 , , .545 , , 3.5 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , .2 , , 6.9 , , 7.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 57 , , 42 , , 21.7 , , .502 , , 0.000 , , .486 , , 4.1 , , 2.3 , , .8 , , .3 , , 9.1 , , 9.3

Domestic leagues

References

External links

Lior Eliyahu
at draftexpress.com
Lior Eliyahu
at eurobasket.com
Lior Eliyahu
at euroleague.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Eliyahu, Lior 1985 births Living people ABA League players Israeli expatriate basketball people in Spain Hapoel Galil Elyon players Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Spain Israeli Jews Israeli men's basketball players Israeli people of Iranian-Jewish descent Jewish men's basketball players Liga ACB players Maccabi Ashdod B.C. players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players Orlando Magic draft picks Sportspeople from Ramat Gan Power forwards (basketball) Saski Baskonia players Small forwards