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Nate Robinson’s Half-court Prayer Is Answered in ‘Gadol’ Israel Debut

By making it rain buckets, Hapoel Tel Aviv’s newest player showed fans in Israel why he had such a successful career in the NBA

by
Jonathan Zalman
March 21, 2016
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Nate Robinson’s decision to play basketball in Israel is something we’re pretty excited about. But our level of excitement is no match for his Hapoel Tel Aviv teammates, who welcomed the former NBA journeyman to Israel by forming a jump-huddle around Robinson while chanting his name.

Hapoel Tel Aviv fans welcome former NBA import Nate Robinson. pic.twitter.com/3QuMrZzkeJ



— David Pick (@IAmDPick) March 17, 2016

Hapoel Tel Aviv fans welcome former NBA import Nate Robinson. pic.twitter.com/3QuMrZzkeJ



— David Pick (@IAmDPick) March 17, 2016

Robinson is instant offense, and in his first game with Hapoel Sunday night, he dropped 25 points on just 15 shots, playing 31 minutes in a 103-94 win over Maccabi Rishon Lezion. Below are the highlights of the game, including Robinson’s near half-court prayer.

Let’s hope Robinson stays in Israel and continues to bring his exciting game to the masses there. And not, as he previously noted, to the NFL.

Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.