Tal Brody
Tal Brody, in March 2011
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 30, 1943 Trenton, New Jersey |
| Nationality | American / Israeli |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1.5 in (1.87 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
Trenton Central (Trenton, New Jersey) |
| College | Illinois (1962–1965) |
| NBA draft | 1965 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12th overall |
| Selected by the Baltimore Bullets | |
| Playing career | 1966–1980 |
| Position | Guard |
| Number | 6 |
| Career history | |
| 1966–1980 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Tal Brody (Hebrew: טל ברודי; nicknamed Mr. Basketball; born August 30, 1943) is an American-Israeli former basketball player, and current Goodwill Ambassador of Israel, who lives in Israel. Brody was drafted # 12 in the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft, but chose to pass up an NBA career to instead play basketball in Israel. He played on national basketball teams of both the United States and Israel, and served in the armies of both countries.
A New Jersey All Star basketball player in high school, Brody led his team to an undefeated state championship. In college, he was a high-scoring, slick-passing All-American and All-Big Ten guard in 1965, while playing for the University of Illinois. That year, he was drafted 12th in the NBA draft. Before the NBA season started, he traveled to Israel where he led the American team to a gold medal in the 1965 Maccabiah Games. Convinced by Moshe Dayan and others to return to Israel to help elevate the country's basketball team and morale, he passed up his NBA career to instead play basketball for Maccabi Tel Aviv.
In 1977, he led Maccabi Tel Aviv to the European Cup Basketball Championship. Along the way, his team defeated the heavily favored Soviet Red Army team CSKA Moscow. Brody's famous remark upon beating the Soviets – "We are on the map! And we are staying on the map – not only in sports, but in everything." – became a part of Israeli culture. It has been used for decades in various contexts, from political speeches to National Lottery commercials.
Brody is Jewish, and the son of Max and Shirley Brody. His father and paternal grandfather had emigrated from Eastern Europe to the United States, spending years in Palestine along the way. His father spent three years in Palestine in the 1920s, working as an engineer on the construction of the Rothenberg electric station, the country's first. Both his father and his grandfather, who lived in Palestine for 10 years, helped build the country's first airfield, in Herzliya. Brody has an older sister, Renee.
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