David Blu (; born David Bluthenthal; July 18, 1980) is an American–Israeli former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player, who spent 10 seasons playing in the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. Standing at , he played at the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

positions. He is considered to be one of the top three-point shooters in EuroLeague history. He was also the 2011 Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP. He also represented the senior Israeli national team in 2010.

Early life

Blu was born in Los Angeles, California, and is Jewish. His mother was

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish, and his

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

father converted to

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. He represented the United States at the

1997 Maccabiah Games The 15th Maccabiah Games are primarily remembered for being marred by a Maccabiah bridge collapse, bridge collapse that killed several participants. The Maccabiah had more than 5,000 athletes from 33 countries competing in 36 sports. New sports fo ...

, winning a gold medal. Blu attended Palms Middle School, and Venice High School and Westchester High School.

College career

Blu attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC), which was founded by his great-great-granduncle, Isaias Hellman. A starter from his sophomore season on, he was consistently one of the top players in the

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

. In 2001–02, his senior season, Blu was named All-Pac 10 honorable mention. He averaged 12.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He left school in 2002, to pursue a career in professional basketball. His most memorable performance remains the 27 points he scored against

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, in an NCAA regional semifinal upset in 2001, made by the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

team that was led by Blu.

Professional career

Maccabi Tel Aviv

After Blu completed his 4 years of college athletics eligibility, he decided to play professional basketball in Europe, and signed with

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i professional team

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

, of the

. During two years with Maccabi Tel Aviv (2002–04), he helped the team to the

championship in 2004, and to the Israeli National Cup title twice. He scored 20 points off the bench, in the 2004 EuroLeague Final, a 44-point Maccabi annihilation of one of the best team in Europe,

Fortitudo Bologna Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, commonly known as Fortitudo Bologna and currently known as Fortitudo Flats Service Bologna for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball club based in Bologna, Italy and currently plays in the second division. H ...

. Following the 2004 season, Blu was signed by the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

, on August 7, 2004, but he was released in November, before the 2004–05 season started.

Dynamo St. Petersburg

Following his release from

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, Blu received an offer from the Russian team BC Dynamo Saint Petersburg, that had just signed

David Blatt David Michael Blatt (; born May 22, 1959) is an Israeli-American professional basketball executive. He is also a former coach and player. Blatt played point guard at Princeton University from 1977 to 1981 and played in the Maccabiah Games for ...

, who was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of Maccabi Tel Aviv, during the time that Blu was there. In 8 games played in the Russian Basketball Super League A, he shot 69.6% from 2-point range.

Italian teams

After two months in Russia, Blu went to Italy, to play for Benetton Treviso. He shot over 60% from 2-point range, and over 51% from 3-point range, in the Italian League. In the summer of 2005, he signed with

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

, and became one of their top players, with a scoring average of 20.2 points per game in the Italian League. After the 2005–06 season, he signed with Virtus' intense crosstown rivals, Fortitudo. During the 2006–07 season, for Fortitudo, he averaged 16 points and 4.2 rebounds in EuroLeague play, and also made 46.8% of his two-point shots, and 53.3% of his three-pointers.

Second stint with Maccabi

On June 15, 2007, Blu returned from Fortitudo, to

. He averaged 8.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in 25

games for Maccabi, as they advanced to the

EuroLeague Finals The EuroLeague Finals are the championship finals of the EuroLeague competition. The EuroLeague is European professional club basketball pyramid, the highest level tier, and most important professional sports, professional sports club, club bask ...

, against winners

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

Le Mans

On July 10, 2008, Blu signed a one-year deal with

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

. Over 10 games in the

, he averaged 12.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Third stint with Maccabi

In the summer of 2009, Blu yet again returned to Israel, and signed a one-year contract with

. He finished the 2010–11 season with averages of 8.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in the EuroLeague, and 10.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in the Israeli Super League. He named the 2011 Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP. In July 2011, Maccabi extended Blu's contract for another year. In June 2012, Blu retired for the first time, in order to complete his college education in the USA. After graduating college in the summer of 2013, Blu signed a new contract with

. Following his comeback, after an up and down season, Maccabi won the 2014 EuroLeague championship, the sixth in the club's history, and his second. Over the season, he averaged 10.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, over 30 games played in the EuroLeague. In the EuroLeague Final Four, he helped his team oust

in the semifinals, by scoring 15 points, with some crucial three-pointers. In the championship finals game, against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, he scored 14 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. Once the season ended, Blu announced his retirement from playing professional basketball.

National team career

In the summer of 2010, Blu represented

, and he made his first appearance with them against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, on July 19, 2010. Blu also competed with the senior Israeli national team at the

EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted the 1939 champions ...

, where he averaged 12.8 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game.

Accolades

In 2006 he was inducted into the

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jews, American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distingui ...

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Maccabi , 14 , , 0 , , 11.1 , , .522 , , .368 , , .700 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , .3 , , .0 , , 4.4 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2003–04† , 17 , , 0 , , 10.2 , , .609 , , .462 , , .789 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .2 , , .1 , , 6.2 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;",

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

, 10 , , 0 , , 18.1 , , .393 , , .276 , , .500 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .8 , , .3 , , 5.8 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;",

, 14 , , 10 , , 31.7 , , .491 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", .533* , , .828 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .1 , , 16.0 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi , style="background:#CFECEC;", 25* , , 18 , , 21.0 , , .488 , , .456 , , .929 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , .3 , , .1 , , 8.7 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 8 , , 32.9 , , .413 , , .360 , , .913 , , 3.8 , , 1.1 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 12.5 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="4", Maccabi , 19 , , 1 , , 23.6 , , .409 , , .363 , , .880 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .1 , , 9.3 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 22 , , 1 , , 23.0 , , .448 , , .432 , , .727 , , 3.1 , , .6 , , .8 , , .1 , , 8.9 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , 20 , , 6 , , 24.6 , , .447 , , .375 , , .880 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , .6 , , .0 , , 9.3 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2013–14† , 30 , , 6 , , 24.8 , , .433 , , .406 , , .816 , , 3.2 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .0 , , 10.1 , , 8.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 181 , , 50 , , 22.1 , , .457 , , .411 , , .833 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .5 , , .1 , , 9.1 , , 7.2

References

External links

David Blu
at draftexpress.com
David Blu
at eurobasket.com
David Blu
at euroleague.net

at nba.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blu, David 1980 births Living people ABA League players African-American Jews American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Russia American men's basketball players Maccabiah Games medalists in basketball Basketball players from Los Angeles BC Dynamo Saint Petersburg players Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna players Israeli Basketball Premier League players 21st-century Israeli Jews Israeli men's basketball players Jewish American basketball players Le Mans Sarthe Basket players Maccabiah Games basketball players for the United States Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Competitors at the 1997 Maccabiah Games Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players Pallacanestro Treviso players Power forwards Small forwards USC Trojans men's basketball players Virtus Bologna players Westchester High School (Los Angeles) alumni Venice High School (Los Angeles) alumni 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century American Jews Naturalised basketball players Jews from California 21st-century Israeli sportsmen