Tamir Goodman (; born January 18, 1982) is a former American-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. He was dubbed the "

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

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

" by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' magazine. After playing basketball for the

Talmudical Academy of Baltimore The Talmudical Academy of Baltimore or TA (Hebrew: ישיבת חפץ חיים) is a K–12 yeshiva founded in 1917. Its present campus, located at 4445 Old Court Road, includes a pre-school building, an elementary school building, a middle schoo ...

in 11th grade, he was ranked the 25th-best high school player in the country, with an average of 35.4 points per game. He accepted a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

from

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its foundin ...

. Goodman then moved to Israel and signed a 3-year contract with

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 ...

in 2002. He was loaned to

Giv'at Shmuel Giv'at Shmuel () is a city in the Central District (Israel), Center District of Israel. It is located in the eastern part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area and bordered by Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak to the West, Kiryat Ono to the South and P ...

for the 2002–03 season, then played for

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 ...

in the 2003–04 season, and returned to Giva't Shmuel for the 2005–06 season.

Early life

Goodman grew up in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, in an Orthodox Jewish family with six brothers and two sisters. He began playing basketball at five years of age, but he first garnered national attention as a junior in high school, averaging 35.4 points per game for the

. In 11th grade, he was ranked the 25th-best high school player in the country, and was dubbed the "Jewish Jordan". Goodman graduated from Takoma Academy of Takoma Park, Maryland, in 2000.

College career

Goodman received a scholarship offer to the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, which had one of the top-ranked basketball teams in the country. The team's schedule included activities on Friday nights and Saturdays (against the rules of

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...

). Maryland's coaching staff and Tamir had friction over his refusal to play on the Sabbath, so he declined Maryland's offer. Instead, Goodman accepted a

from nearby

. Goodman was the first freshman to start at Towson in eleven seasons. He averaged 6 points, 4 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game in his freshman year in 2000–2001, and was awarded the coach's award for his performance on the court and in the classroom. Goodman continued at Towson for his sophomore campaign until December 2001, when Goodman filed a complaint that the newly hired coach allegedly assaulted him.

Professional career

Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. (2002)

Goodman fulfilled a dream of his by moving to Israel and signing a 3-year contract with

on July 22, 2002.

Giv'at Shmuel (2002–2003)

To get more playing time, Goodman was loaned to

for the 2002–03 season.

Elitzur Kiryat Ata (2003–2004)

Goodman played for

in the 2003–04 season.

Return to Giv'at (2005–2006)

Goodman went on to serve in the

Israeli Defense Force The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

, a requirement for all

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 citizens. He suffered a knee injury that required major surgery. After nine months of intensive physical therapy, he beat the odds and returned to Giva't Shmuel to fulfill his contract for the 2005–06 season.

Maccabi Shoham (2006–2007)

Still recovering from his injury, Goodman dropped down to

Liga Leumit The Israeli Liga Leumit (, HaLiga HaLeumit, ) is the second division of the professional Israeli association football (soccer) league system. This second-tier league is placed directly below the Israeli Premier League. Structure There are 16 ...

to play for Maccabi Shoham. In his first two games, he played more than 20 minutes and scored close to 20 points a game. But in December 2006, Goodman's left knee gave out again and his doctors ordered him to undergo weeks of physical therapy. He did not get to play again until March 2007.

Maryland Nighthawks (2008)

In late 2007, Goodman moved back to Maryland to play for the

Maryland Nighthawks The Washington GreenHawks were a team of the Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League (ACPBL) based in Washington, D.C. As the Maryland Nighthawks they were formerly part of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and a founding member of ...

of the newly formed

Premier Basketball League The Premier Basketball League (PBL) is an American professional men's basketball minor league that began play in January 2008. The league folded after the 2017 season. It was announced that the league would be revived under new management for t ...

(the league began play in January 2008). In his first game, he suffered a complex dislocation of his finger which required surgery and a year of physical therapy.

Maccabi Haifa (2008)

In July 2008, Goodman signed 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 ...

.Maccabi Haifa signs the 'Jewish Jordan' for next season
Haaretz, July 30, 2008 After shattering several bones in his left hand in practice, Goodman was unable to play the remainder of the season.

Bibliography

*Tamir Goodman, ''The Jewish Jordan's Triple Threat''

References

External links

"From Jordan to Israel"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, Tamir 1982 births Living people American Orthodox Jews Basketball players from Baltimore Israeli men's basketball players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Israeli Orthodox Jews Elitzur Kiryat Ata players Maccabi Givat Shmuel players Maccabi Haifa B.C. players Towson Tigers men's basketball players American men's basketball players Jewish American basketball players Jews from Maryland Talmudical Academy of Baltimore alumni 21st-century Israeli sportsmen