'He'll go down as a club legend': Scottie Wilbekin's time in Maccabi won't be forgotten / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv Credit Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

Four years on the same team is a long time, especially in European basketball. We are so used to players switching teams from season to season that someone staying in the same place for more than two seasons is always an exception.

Free throws this season

81%14,1Points made:14,1Accuracy:81,4%Place in standings:1Record max:25Record min:6Most made FTs:James NunnallyTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

The four years Scottie Wilbekin spent in Tel Aviv were among the most important of his basketball career and life. Wilbekin, a Florida alumn, had joined the Israeli powerhouse in the summer of 2018 after leading Turkish side Darussafaka Dogus to the EuroCup title the season before.

Wilbekin had averaged 26 points per game in the finals against Lokomotiv Kuban. That summer, he was hands down one of the most coveted players on the European market.

After lengthy negotiations with multiple teams, including Anadolu Efes, Wilbekin decided to join Maccabi Tel Avivand originally signed a two-year deal.

In his first season in Tel Aviv, Maccabi didn't reach the EuroLeague playoffs and was forced to change head coach during the season, firing Neven Spahija and replacing him with Giannis Sfairopoulos.

Wilbekin increased almost every personal stat in the following season, averaging 16 points per game during the EuroLeague season.

Maccabi's roster was deep and could count on an impressive frontcourt with Quincy Acy, Othello Hunter, Tarik Black, former NBA star Amar'e Stoudemire, and Jalen Reynolds. The season was suspended due to Covid, but Maccabi was absolutely in the mix for a playoff spot, showing a combination of talent and tenacity rarely seen before.

After Covid, though, Maccabi suffered several departures that were difficult to replace, especially because the team was hit hard financially by the pandemic.

Rising star Deni Avdija left for the NBA, and both Quincy Acy and Tarik Black, who had been instrumental in forming one of the best frontcourts in Europe, left the team, leaving only Othello Hunter and the newcomer Ante Zizic to handle the business close to the basket.

Scottie Wilbekin

MIN:28.98PTS:15.4 (52.11%)REB:2.11As:4.11ST:1.51BL:0TO:2GM:35ProfileEuroLeague2021/2022

Elijah Bryant, another important part of the roster, left during the 2020-2021 season to join the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA. Maccabi, once again, failed to qualify for the EuroLeague playoffs. On the other hand, they won their third domestic league title in a row.

In this past season, Maccabi Tel Aviv struggled until the beginning of the new year, when the team decided to move on from coach Sfairopoulos and put assistant coach Avi Even in charge for the rest of the season.

The Israeli side finished the EuroLeague season in a great way, securing the fifth spot in the standings and advancing to the EuroLeague playoffs for the first time since Wilbekin's arrival.

Despite the playoffs appearance, Maccabi's season couldn't be defined as a satisfying one. The team got swept by Real Madrid in the EuroLeague quarterfinal series and failed to reach the domestic league finals.

Wilbekin, who has been the team leader for the past four years, has joined Fenerbahce on a multi-year deal, returning to Istanbul, his other European home (Wilbekin also has a Turkish passport and will play as a domestic player in the Turkish league). So this looks like the right time to make an evaluation of his time in Tel Aviv.

On the court, Wilbekin won three Israeli league titles and one Israeli Cup with Maccabi Tel Aviv. In EuroLeague, Maccabi never looked like a team who could fight for a spot in the Final Four, except maybe the 2019-20 season, which was interrupted because of Covid, but of course, we'll never have the counter poof about it.

But a player's impact on a team is not measured only on the court. How he adapted to the city and embraced the environment is what actually matters. And in the case of Scottie Wilbekin's time in Tel Aviv, it's difficult to find someone who has something negative to say about the player and his family.

"Scottie and his wife Maria were loved by everyone here in Tel Aviv," a source with knowledge of Scottie Wilbekin's situation told BasketNews. "During their four years here, they built many great relationships with people inside and outside of the club. Except for some media members who criticized his game from time to time, you won't find a single person in Tel Aviv who will tell you something negative about Scottie."

"Scottie is not necessarily a guy who talks a lot, but he's a straight shooter, you know? He always will tell you what he thinks", another source told BasketNews. "All his teammates and coaches have always appreciated this thing. He's not a shady guy, he will always be transparent with you. In Tel Aviv, he definitely left a mark."

The relationship that Wilbekin was able to build with Maccabi fans was one for the ages. For four years, Maccabi Tel Aviv fans considered Wilbekin their king and embraced him like one of their own.

"The fans absolutely loved him. Most of them started to call him 'Wilbeking,' even if he left now, he'll always have a special place in their hearts," a source told BasketNews. "Did you see that scene when Maccabi qualified for the EuroLeague playoffs and Scottie started to dance with them? That's the kind of love he got from Maccabi fans in good and bad days. He'll go down as a club legend for sure."

When asked about what could have been done better during Wilbekin's time in Tel Aviv, most of the sources reached out by BasketNews answered similarly.

"I think when you look at Maccabi Tel Aviv's roster during Scottie's time here, you'll never find a true backcourt companion for him," one source close to Maccabi Tel Aviv told BasketNews.

"In the past two years, he had Chris Jones, with whom they never really clicked, and this season he had a rookie like Keenan Evans, whom I believe is a good player, but he wasn't ready to ease some offensive load off Scottie's shoulders."

"Maccabi's best roster in the last few years was probably the one they had in the Covid season, the 2019-20 season. They had a really good frontcourt, and Scottie had Tyler Dorsey alongside him. That was a hell of a team," another source told BasketNews. "If it weren't for Covid, they would have gone to the Final Four that year."

In an interview with Willbekin right before the beginning of the season, the American/Turkish guard said that he did feel a really good connection with the fans and the city of Tel Aviv.

"Here, it's like home for me," Wilbekin said to BasketNews at the beginning of the season. "I feel confident here, I'm comfortable, I like the city and the people in Tel Aviv."

Now Wilbekin will begin a new career chapter with Fenerbahce under coach Dimitris Itoudis. After four years in Tel Aviv, he felt that a change was needed and a cycle was about to end.

One thing is sure: next time Wilbekin is in Tel Aviv, he'll be greeted accordingly because he left a mark on the club and city that very few others were able to do in the past.

It's not only about the numbers of the court and the 3-pointers. It goes much deeper than that.

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