Tal Brody

Tal Brody
	Brody in 2011
Personal information
Born	August 30, 1943 (age 81); Trenton, New Jersey
Nationality	American / Israeli
Listed height	6 ft 1.75 in (1.87 m)
Listed weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school	Trenton Central; (Trenton, New Jersey)
College	Illinois (1962–1965)
NBA draft	1965: 1st round, 12th overall pick
	Selected by the Baltimore Bullets
Playing career	1966–1980
Position	Shooting guard
Number	6
Career history
1966–1967,; 1973–1980	Maccabi Tel Aviv
Career highlights and awards
	EuroLeague champion (1977); FIBA Saporta Cup Finals Top Scorer (1967); 10× Israeli League champion (1967, 1968, 1973–1980); 6× Israeli State Cup winner (1973, 1975, 1977–1980); Israeli Sportsman of the Year (1967); FIBA European Selection (1978); Israel Prize (1979); Israeli Basketball Hall of Fame; 101 Greats of European Basketball (2018); Second-team All-American – SN, Converse (1965); All-Big Ten (1965); No. 12 jersey retired by the University of Illinois;
	Stats at Basketball Reference
Representing Israel
Men's Basketball
Asian Games
Maccabiah Games

Talbot "Tal" Brody (Hebrew: טל ברודי; born August 30, 1943), nicknamed Mr. Basketball, is an American-Israeli former professional basketball player and current goodwill ambassador of Israel. Brody was drafted #12 in the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft, but chose to pass up an NBA career, to instead play basketball in Israel.^[1]^[2] He played on national basketball teams of both the United States and Israel, and served in the armies of both countries.

A New Jersey All-star basketball player in high school, Brody led his team to an undefeated state championship. In college, he was a high-scoring, slick-passing All-American and All-Big Ten point guard in 1965, while playing for the University of Illinois. That year, he was drafted 12th in the NBA draft. Before the NBA season started, he traveled to Israel, where he led the American team to a gold medal in the 1965 Maccabiah Games. Convinced by Moshe Dayan and others, to return to Israel to help elevate the country's basketball team and morale, he passed up his NBA career, to instead play basketball for Maccabi Tel Aviv.

In 1977, he led Maccabi Tel Aviv to the FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague) championship. Along the way, his team defeated the heavily favored Soviet Red Army team, CSKA Moscow. Brody's famous remark upon beating the Soviets – "We are on the map! And we are staying on the map – not only in sports, but in everything." – became a part of Israeli culture. It has been used for decades, in various contexts, from political speeches, to National Lottery commercials.

^ Sergio Carmona (October 19, 2010). "Israel's sports hero visits South Florida". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
^ Fine, Jeremy (May 29, 2010). "Interview with Israeli Basketball Legend Tal Brody". Jewish Journal. Archived from the original on August 9, 2010. Retrieved April 1, 2011.

[sun-sentinel2-1] Sergio Carmona (October 19, 2010). "Israel's sports hero visits South Florida". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2011.

[jewishjournal1-2] Fine, Jeremy (May 29, 2010). "Interview with Israeli Basketball Legend Tal Brody". Jewish Journal. Archived from the original on August 9, 2010. Retrieved April 1, 2011.

[1]

[2]