Nachum welcomed Coach David Blatt, recipient of the 2020 Sylvan Adams NBN Bonei Zion Prize in the category of Culture, Art & Sports, to this morning’s JM in the AM to discuss the award and his storied career.

From the Bonei Zion website:

David Blatt is known as one of the most successful American-Israeli coaches in European basketball history. Before he started his coaching career, David played point guard at Princeton University from 1977 to 1981 and played in the Maccabiah Games for the USA national team that won a gold medal in 1981. He then played professional basketball in Israel for nine years before starting his full-time coaching career.

In 2006 David Blatt won the Italian Championship while coaching Benneton Treviso. He coached the Russian National team for 7 years and won the Eurobasket championship in 2007 as well as the Olympic bronze medal at London 2012. In 2014, he led Maccabi Tel Aviv to one of the greatest comebacks against CSKA Moscow in the EuroLeague semifinal game, proceeding to win the championship after beating Real Madrid in overtime. David has been the Israeli Super League Coach of the Year four times. During his time as Maccabi’s coach, he helped the team achieve new heights and recognition in Israel and worldwide.

After Maccabi, he coached the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA finals and went on to coach Olympiacos in Greece and Darussafaka in Turkey where his team won an historic Eurocup championship.

David made Aliyah in 1981 from Boston, MA.