Oded Kattash was born on October 10, 1974. At ten, he joined the youth department of Maccabi Tel Aviv, and from his early steps, the talented point guard showed great promise. After playing at Maccabi Darom, Maccabi Ramat Gan, and Hapoel Galil Elyon, he returned to the Yellows' senior team and soon became a superstar.
After winning three championships and two state cups with Maccabi while making a name for himself as one of the best European guards, he reached an agreement with the New York Knicks (1998). He was supposed to be the first Israeli in the NBA, but a players lockdown delayed the start of the season. Instead, Kattash returned to Maccabi and signed with Panathinaikos in the following summer.
That season (1999/2000) ended with one of the most memorable games ever. Kattash faced Maccabi in the Euroleague final, scored 14 points for the Greeks - most of them in crucial minutes - and prevented the Yellows from winning the cup. After battling a knee injury for several years, one of the best Israeli basketball players announced his retirement and started his coaching journey at Hapoel Galil Elyon.
In the summer of 2007, Kattash was appointed head coach of Maccabi, but the romance ended after six months due to a run of bad results. Since then, Kattash has become one of the best Israeli coaches. He led Gilboa/Galil to win the championship, and coached The Israeli national team, Hapoel Jerusalem, Hapoel Eilat, and Hapoel Tel Aviv.
In 2017, Kattash led the Israeli U20 national team to the finals of the European Championship. He won two state cups with Hapoel Jerusalem and added the Greek league title and cup with Panathinaikos before being inducted into Maccabi's hall of fame (alongside Doron Sheffer) in 2021.
Half a year later, he returned to the Yellows as head coach.
Honors as a Maccabi player
4 Israeli championships
2 Israeli state cups