Meir Tapiro (; born March 28, 1975) is a former Israeli 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, and current CEO of

Ironi Nes Ziona Ironi Ness Ziona B.C. (or spelled as Ironi Nes Ziona B.C.) is a professional basketball club based in Ness Ziona, Israel. The team plays its home games at the Lev Hamoshava, which has capacity for 1,200 people. The club plays in the Israeli Bask ...

. Tapiro played at the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

position. He was the 2002

Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP The Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP, or Israeli Basketball Super League MVP, is an annual basketball award that is presented to the most valuable player in a given season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier level ...

. He was a five-time Israeli Premier League Assists Leader, in 1998, 2004, 2006, 2010, and 2014. He is of a Moroccan Jewish descent.

Early years

Tapiro started playing basketball with the youth department of

Elitzur Kiryat Ata Ironi Kiryat Ata is an Israeli professional basketball sports club, club based in Kiryat Ata, a city in the Haifa District of Israel, which currently competes in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. The team was founded in 1980, and was promoted ...

Professional career

Tapiro started his professional career at Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin. During his pro club career, Tapiro also played with

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv () is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as football, basketball, w ...

, Hapoel Eilat,

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's lead ...

Bnei HaSharon Bnei Herzliya Basket (, lit. ''Sons of Herzliya''), is a professional basketball club that is based in Herzliya, in central Israel. The club plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top division of Israeli basketball. History The club w ...

, Nancy,

Maccabi Rishon LeZion Maccabi Rishon LeZion is a sport club in Rishon LeZion, Israel. The professional teams associated with it include: *Maccabi Rishon LeZion (basketball) *Maccabi Rishon LeZion (handball) * Maccabi Rishon LeZion (badminton) There was also a footb ...

, and

Maccabi Ashdod Maccabi Ashdod B.C. () is a professional basketball team based in the port city of Ashdod, Israel. The team currently plays in the Israeli National League. History The team was founded in 1961 by "Maccabi Ashdod Sports Association", with the ...

. He was the 2002

. He was a five-time Israeli Premier League Assists Leader, in 1998, 2004, 2006, 2010, and 2014.

Triple doubles

Tapiro was the first Israeli player to achieve a

Triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

in the Israeli Super League. It happened during a game on February 1, 1999, when he finished the game with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, while playing with

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

. Tapiro was also the first Israeli player to achieve a

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

in a European-wide game, as he led

to a 118–95 win over

BC Odesa BC Odesa () is a Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Odesa. The club competed in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague (UBSL). Established in 1992, Odesa played in the SuperLeague for most of its existence until it disappeared in 201 ...

, in a

EuroCup Challenge The FIBA EuroCup Challenge was the 4th-tier level transnational professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, organised by FIBA Europe. However, it was Europe's 3rd-tier level club basketball competition in its inaugural 2002� ...

game in 2003. In total, Tapiro had 6 triple doubles throughout his career.

Israeli national team

Tapiro also played with the senior Israeli National Team in every

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

, from 1999 to 2007. He played at the

EuroBasket 1999 The 1999 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1999, was the 31st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Tournament, giving a berth ...

, the

EuroBasket 2001 The 2001 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2001, was the 32nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, giving a ...

, the

EuroBasket 2003 The 2003 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2003, was the 33rd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as the Europe qualifier for the 2004 Summer Olympics, giving a berth ...

, the

EuroBasket 2005 The 2005 FIBA European Championship, commonly known as FIBA EuroBasket 2005, was the 34th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. It also served as the European qualifier for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, awardin ...

, and the

EuroBasket 2007 The 2007 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2007, was the 35th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics – ...

. His best performance in a

event was at

, where he averaged 13.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. On May 27, 2009, at the age of 34, Tapiro announced his immediate retirement from the Israeli national team, even though he was due to participate in the upcoming

EuroBasket 2009 The 2009 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2009, was the 36th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. The tournament, which was hosted by Poland, began on 7 September and concluded with the ...

. He cited his reasons for retirement from the national team as, his need to get rest, and to prepare himself physically and mentally for the next upcoming season.

Honours

Israeli State Cup The Israel State Cup (, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involves clubs of all standards p ...

**Winner: 2006–07

Regular season Statistics

The blocks have counted since 2001-02 season The minutes have counted since 1997-98 season , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", H.T.A , 16 , , ? , , ? , , .56 , , .33 , , .64 , , 1.7 , , 1.9 , , .0 , , 0 , , 6.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", H.T.A , 20 , , ? , , ? , , .52 , , .38 , , .81 , , 2.2 , , 2.8 , , 0 , , 0 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Eilat Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...

, 20 , , ? , , ? , , .51 , , .36 , , .85 , , 2.2 , , 1.6 , , 0 , , 0 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , ? , , ? , , .50 , , .28 , , .75 , , 2.6 , , .7 , , 0 , , 0 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, 22 , , ? , , 34.7 , , .48 , , .34 , , .73 , , 5.5 , , 5.4 , , 0 , , 0 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , ? , , 35.6 , , .51 , , .34 , , .85 , , 5.2 , , 5.3 , , 1.3 , , 0 , , 15 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, 28 , , ? , , ? , , .48 , , .42 , , .70 , , 2.6 , , 2.5 , , 1.1 , , 0 , , 8.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 24 , , 27.7 , , .48 , , .34 , , .76 , , 3.2 , , 2.8 , , 1.7 , , 0 , , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 23 , , 34.8 , , .56 , , .42 , , .86 , , 4.7 , , 4.4 , , 1.7 , , 0 , , 17.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 21 , , 35.1 , , .46 , , .38 , , .73 , , 4.2 , , 7.3 , , 1.9 , , 0 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Nancy , 33 , , 18 , , 24.06 , , .56 , , .236 , , .679 , , 3.51 , , 5.5 , , 1 , , 0.15 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 6 , , 27.1 , , .48 , , .42 , , .81 , , 3.9 , , 5.4 , , 1.5 , , 0 , , 10.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 26 , , 27.2 , , .44 , , .38 , , .82 , , 3.1 , , 4 , , 1.3 , , 0 , , 10.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , , 22 , , 34 , , .49 , , .36 , , .82 , , 5.3 , , 5.5 , , 1.4 , , 0 , , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 22 , , 21 , , 31.9 , , .48 , , .35 , , .71 , , 4.8 , , 5.6 , , 1.1 , , 0 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Rishon , 22 , , 9 , , 28.7 , , .42 , , .34 , , .83 , , 4.6 , , 6.5 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Ashdod Ashdod (, ; , , or ; Philistine language, Philistine: , romanized: *''ʾašdūd'') is the List of Israeli cities, sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District (Israel), Southern District, it lies on the Mediterranean ...

, 27 , , 27 , , 32.6 , , .45 , , .33 , , .85 , , 5.1 , , 6.1 , , 2.2 , , 0.1 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , , 24 , , 30.8 , , .45 , , .22 , , .87 , , 4.6 , , 7.4 , , 1.5 , , 0 , , 9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 4 , , 20.2 , , .45 , , .27 , , .85 , , 2.6 , , 3.5 , , .8 , , 0 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Nes Ziona Ness Ziona (, ''Nes Tziyona'') is a city in Central District, Israel. In it had a population of , and its jurisdiction was 15,579 dunams (). Identification Lying within Ness Ziona's city bounds is the ruin of the Arab village of Sarafand al-K ...

, 29 , , 29 , , 33.1 , , .43 , , .32 , , .91 , , 4.3 , , 6.6 , , 1.5 , , 0 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 19 , , 25 , , .50 , , .37 , , .75 , , 3.5 , , 5.2 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Kiryat Gat Kiryat Gat () also spelled Qiryat Gat, is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It lies south of Tel Aviv, north of Beersheba, and west southwest of Jerusalem. In it had a population of . The city hosts one of the most advanced semicondu ...

, 32 , , 8 , , 21 , , .48 , , .28 , , .86 , , 3.6 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , 0 , , 6.5 , -

References

External links

Meir Tapiro at the Eurobasket 2007 siteMeir Tapiro at the Eurocup site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapiro, Meir 1975 births Living people Bnei HaSharon players Hapoel Eilat basketball players Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. players Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players Ironi Ness Ziona B.C. players Israeli men's basketball players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Israeli people of Tunisian-Jewish descent Maccabi Ashdod B.C. players Maccabi Haifa B.C. players Maccabi Kiryat Gat B.C. players Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin basketball players Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players People from Kiryat Ata Sportspeople from Haifa District Point guards SLUC Nancy Basket players