Tal Burstein ( he, טל בורשטיין; born February 19, 1980) is an Israeli professional

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

and a former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He played at the point guard position, and also as a swingman. He is 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) in height. He has also been named as one of the best Israeli basketball players ever.

Early life

Burstein is Jewish, and was born in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent s ...

, Israel.

Professional career

Tal Burstein began his basketball career with the Bnei-Herzliya junior team. In the 1997–98 season, he made his professional debut and he was named the Israeli League Rookie of the Year. He became a team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

during the 1999–2000 season. In the 2001–02 season, he led the Israeli League in three-point field goal percentage, shooting 49.4%. Beginning in the 2000–01 season, he played with

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) 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 ...

. He became a starter in his first season in Tel Aviv. With the club, Burstein won 8 Israeli National Championships and 6 Israeli State Cups. He also won 3 European championships with Maccabi, the 2001 FIBA SuproLeague championship, and the EuroLeague championships in the years 2004 and 2005. After the 2008–09 season, Burstein left Maccabi Tel Aviv and signed with the Spanish team Fuenlabrada. A year later, Burstein returned to Maccabi, on a three-year contract. In August 2012, he announced his retirement from playing professional basketball, after learning that he would have to undergo surgery on his injured hip, which would cause him to miss the entire upcoming season.

National team career

Burstein has played for all of the Israeli junior national teams and also for the senior men's Israeli national basketball team. In August 2000, he was the

of the Israeli under-20 national team, which won a silver medal at the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship in

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inh ...

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

. In August 2001, Burstein was a member of the Israeli Under-22 national team at the FIBA Under-21 World Championship in Saitama, Japan, where his team finished in 7th place. He also played with the senior men's team, the Israeli national basketball team at the EuroBasket 2003, in Sweden, where his team finished in 7th place, and at the EuroBasket 2005. Burstein eventually also became the team captain on Israel's senior national team. During his time as a member of Israel's senior national team, he played as the national team's first shooting guard, and he could also play on the team as a point guard, if needed.

Coaching career

On June 29, 2017, Burstein returned to

, as an assistant

References

External links

Euroleague.net ProfileBasketball / Rejuvenated Veteran Guard Tal Burstein Takes Over the Reins of the National Team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burstein, Tal 1980 births Living people Israeli Jews Israeli men's basketball players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Bnei Hertzeliya basketball players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players Baloncesto Fuenlabrada players ABA League players Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Spain Israeli basketball coaches Jewish men's basketball players Liga ACB players Sportspeople from Petah Tikva Point guards Shooting guards