Today is Day 18. Netzach sheb’tif’eret. Balance that leads to winning. On Day 18, two days before Yom Haatzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, I’d like to give a special shout to the best NBA player ever from Israel, Omri Casspi. But todays’ final choice came down to two 6’8”/6’9” left-handed, power forwards, who played in the 1970s. Player A was Rookie of the Year, league MVP, … Continue reading Day 18: The Zen Master
Today is Day 17 of the Omer. Tife’ret sheb’tif’eret. Balance & beauty. Today’s player is an 8x NBA Champion, 8x member of the All-Defensive team, and 13x All-Star. John “Hondo” Havlicek was a well-rounded Hall of Famer, who grew from a rookie hanging his hat on defense to retiring as the Boston Celtics all-time leading scorer at 26,395 points (a record he still holds to … Continue reading Day 17: Hondo
Today is Day 16 of the Omer. Gevurah sheb’tif’eret. Power that flows from balance. For the second day in a row, during this week of tif’eret, we are honoring a European big man with an all-around game. There are a few players with more balanced games or more balanced interests than Pau Gasol. Lee Jenkins does an excellent job capturing Pau’s love of art, music, … Continue reading Day 16: Kung Pow
Today is Day 15 of the Omer. Hesed sheb’tif’eret. Generousity that flows from balance. Today begins weeks 3 of the Omer, the week of tif’eret, which connotes beauty, harmony, balance, and compassion and the different ways they manifest in the world. There are few players in the NBA with a more balanced offensive game than the 25 year old, center, Nikola Jokić. The 7ft, 250 … Continue reading Day 15: Big Honey
When the WNBA launched in 1997, I knew all the best American players. They were the members of the 1996 Olympic Team that had just won the gold medal. At least that is who the WNBA marketed, players like Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, and Rebecca Lobo. And then here comes #14, Cynthia Cooper, scoring 22 points, 4.7 assists, and 2.1 steals/game to win the MVP … Continue reading Day 14: Cynthia Cooper
Today is Day 13. Yesod sheb’gevurah. Laying a foundation through power. Heading into the 1988 Seoul Olympics, US Men’s Basketball Team had lost only once in its history, to the Soviet Union at the 1972 Olympics in an extremely controversial ending. But there was no debate over their second loss, again to the U.S.S.R., this time in the 1988 Olympic Semifinals. The group of talented US … Continue reading Day 13: The Godfather of the Euro step
Today is Day 12. Hod sheb’gevurah. Might that manifests in humility. There are few men in the NBA stronger than Steven Adams. If you don’t believe me, just ask Jimmy Butler (NSFW). The native New Zealander, is big and strong, and unafraid to throw his weight around. When I think of gevurah, I think of players like Adams. But not every big man, would be … Continue reading Day 12: The Big Kiwi
Today is Day 11 of the Omer. Netzach sheb’gevurah. From limits comes victory. When I began dreaming about counting the Omer through basketball, I figured that big men would dominate the week of gevurah. It’s a week all about strength and power, right?! However, as I’ve immersed myself further in each day’s combination of sefirot, I’ve understood that while gevurah is at the core, it … Continue reading Day 11: The Splash Brother
Today is Day 10. Tif’eret sheb’gevurah. Beauty that emerges from strength. All-American in high school. Two-time national champion in college. Voted the top collegiate point guard in the country three times. College player of the year as a senior. Number one draft pick. Three championships in the pros. Eleven All-Star appearances. The all-time assists leader. Four time Olympic gold medalist. You may be racking … Continue reading Day 10: Name the Player
Today is Day 9 of the Omer. Gevurah sheb’gevurah. Pure Power. Today is gevurah sheb’gevurah, power manifesting with power. I’ve always known that today would be about highlighting a player who dominated in the paint, but since Day 9 falls on Shabbat, we’ve got a double portion: two all-time greats and double-double machines who dominated the early years in their professional leagues. Bob Petit was … Continue reading Day 9: A Double Double Portion
Omertime 