Born in Boston, David Blatt (52) began his basketball career at Princeton University in 1977, where he graduated in 1981. After winning a gold medal with the United States team in the Maccabiah, he decided to stay in Israel and played in a few teams before starting his coaching career at Maccabi Netanya on a player-coach basis (1987/88). He served as assistant and head coach at Hapoel Galil Elyon before landing in Maccabi in the 1999/2000 season.
In his first season in yellow, under Pini Gershon as head coach, Blatt reached the Final Four in Thessaloniki (where Maccabi lost the final). The second season ended with winning the European title after beating Panathinaikos in Paris.
Blatt was named head coach of Maccabi in 2001/2 and completed two seasons with a final four appearance, two Israeli championships, and two state cups before returning to the assistant coach position. Under Gershon again, Blatt led arguably the best Maccabi team ever to its first of two consecutive Euroleague titles.
In 2004/5 he left Maccabi for Dinamo St. Petersburg, where he won the Eurochallenge cup and was chosen as coach of the year in Russia. The next stop was Benetton Treviso, where Blatt won one championship and two Italian cups. That season, he was appointed coach of the Russian national team and led it to a first historic win in the 2007 European Championship after downing Spain, the favorites, in the final.
In the summer of 2010, Blatt returned to Maccabi and led the Yellows to the Euroleague final. In 2013/14 came one of the most memorable seasons in Maccabi's history. Blatt and his players overcame a stuttering start and rallied to win the Israeli league, the state cup, and the Euroleague with unforgettable wins over CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid in the final four.
In June 2014, Blatt was appointed head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. With Lebron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving in his squad, he finished his debut season in the NBA by reaching the finals against Golden State, losing 2:4 to Steve Kerr's team. In the following season, he led the Cavs to the best record in the Eastern Conference before becoming the coach who was fired with the best record in NBA's history.
In the summer of 2022, after winning the Eurocup with Darussafaka, coaching Olympiakos, and serving as a professional advisor for the New York Knicks, he returned again to Maccabi as Chairman of the Basketball Committee.
Honors as Maccabi head coach
1 European Championship
6 Israeli championships
6 Israeli state cups
1 Adriatic league title
HE
Maccabist
Accessibility
דלג לתוכן העמוד(מקש קיצור 1)
דלג לתפריט תחתון(מקש קיצור 2)
דלג לצור קשר(מקש קיצור 3)
דלג לנגישות באתר (מקש קיצור 4)
Oded
Noam
Guy
Adi
Amit
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45
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Vs Hapoel Beer Sheva/Dimona
Vs Alba Berlin
