Ben Carter (Basketball)

Ben Carter was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and was the younger of Mike Carter's two sons.[1][2] His brother Timothy, known as Tim, is his elder sibling.[1] Their father, Mike Carter — also identified in Israeli sports media as Michael Carter — was a former professional basketball player who competed in Israel during the 1980s and 1990s; Ynet also identified him as a former Hapoel Holon star.[3][2]

Growing up with an Israeli birthplace and an American basketball family gave Ben a dual heritage he later described with evident pride. At the 2013 Maccabiah Games, he said that playing in the country where he was born, in front of Israeli relatives who had not watched him play since he was a small child, was an experience he treasured — and that he wanted to visit the hospital where he was born.[1] "Playing in [the] Maccabiah Games in the country where I was born, and getting to play in front of my Israeli family, is very special," he said. "Tim and I take pride in our Israeli heritage."[1]

Carter enrolled at the University of Oregon, where he was a redshirt freshman at the time of the 2013 Maccabiah Games and the youngest member of the American squad.[1] He said he was not concerned about being the youngest and was eager to demonstrate his skill set to his country and teammates.[1]

By the 2013–14 season, Carter was a sophomore power forward for Oregon, standing 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 meters) tall.[4][2] He averaged 2.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per game while playing nearly 13 minutes per contest.[4] Oregon finished with a 23–8 record and earned the seventh seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament.[4] Around the same period, Carter expressed aspirations of following Israeli NBA players Omri Casspi and Gal Mekel to the professional level.[5]

Carter played in Israel's Premier League for Hapoel Jerusalem and Hapoel Eilat.[2] In 2013, before beginning that club career, he had said that he planned to play for Israel's national team in the future.[1]

During his time with Eilat, Carter appeared in the Balkan League and drew positive early-season notices for his performances there.[6] His statistical production grew over time: in his final reported season with Eilat, 2020–21, he averaged approximately 8.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 24 minutes per game while shooting 40 percent from three-point range.[2]

In Eilat's June 2, 2021 playoff game against Hapoel Haifa, Carter recorded 6 points and 8 rebounds in a 98–87 victory that sent Eilat to the semifinals.[7]

In September 2023, Carter took part in Maccabi Tel Aviv's preseason preparations on a temporary contract.[8] Coach Oded Kattash said: "I would be happy for him to be with us all year. He looks good; it's fun to have him with us." Kattash also acknowledged that Carter had been through a serious injury and emphasized that his health was the primary concern.[8] In December 2023, Carter signed with Hapoel Afula, though he was not expected to play in the club's game against Hapoel Holon that evening.[9]

The 2013 Maccabiah Games held particular personal significance for the Carter family. Ben and his brother Timothy both played for the United States adult basketball team, while their father Michael served as an assistant coach under head coach Brad Greenberg.[3][10] For Ben, competing in Israel was an emotional homecoming; for their father, it was a chance to return to the country where he had built his playing career decades earlier.[1][3]

Carter described the experience as a rare opportunity to connect with Israeli relatives who had not seen him play since childhood, and he spoke of wanting to visit the hospital in Tel Aviv where he was born.[1] He said playing for his father was an honor.[10] At the time, Carter was the youngest member of the American squad, a distinction he embraced as motivation rather than pressure.[1]