Maccabi Rishon LeZion (Basketball)

The club's first league championship came from sixth place in the regular-season standings: in the 2016 playoffs, it defeated Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem in succession.[2] Its other achievements include winning the Winner Cup in 2018 and reaching the league finals in 1990/91, 2019 and 2020.[5][6][7]

Maccabi Rishon LeZion played in blue and yellow until 2005, switching to orange and white before the following season because those colors were more closely associated with the city.[1] Its history includes the arrival of Miki Berkovich and Moti Aroesti from Maccabi Tel Aviv in 1988, a championship-winning team led by Darryl Monroe and Shawn Dawson in 2016, and a return to the top division after three seasons in the Leumit League.[8][2][4]

Founded in 1976, Maccabi Rishon LeZion first reached Israel's top basketball division in 1988, twelve years after its establishment.[1] That year, Miki Berkovich's time with Maccabi Tel Aviv ended, and he joined Rishon together with Moti Aroesti.[8] Berkovich remained with Rishon until 1993.[9]

In 1990/91, Rishon finished second in the league and reached the playoff final against Maccabi Tel Aviv, losing the best-of-five series 3–1.[5] Alongside Berkovich and Aroesti, the roster included Haim Zlotikman, Roni Busani, Gino Banks and Andre Spencer.[5] Following that final appearance, Rishon was eliminated by the Dutch club Den Helder in Champions League qualifying.[5]

Rishon again finished second the following season but lost to Hapoel Tel Aviv in the playoff semifinals.[5] In the 1991/92 State Cup final, it was runner-up to Hapoel Galil Elyon, losing 84–76.[10] The club did not return to the league semifinals until 2006.[5]

The pursuit of success during the 1990s was accompanied by a major financial crisis and a large tax debt.[5] In 2002, Rishon lost a relegation-deciding game at Kiryat Ata and appeared set to leave the top division.[5] It nevertheless retained its place after Maccabi Rosh HaAyin relinquished its own berth later that summer.[5]

In 2005, coach Guy Goodes assembled the first Rishon team to play in orange, with a roster including Omar Sneed, Lee Matthews, Ryan Sidney, John Gilchrist, Moran Roth and Or Eitan.[5] The team reached the Final Four in 2006 and faced Jerusalem, recovering from a large deficit before losing on a Horace Jenkins free throw.[5]

Afi Birenboim's appointment as coach in 2009 preceded another period of playoff success.[5] Rishon reached the Final Four in two consecutive seasons, first by eliminating Bnei HaSharon and then by overturning a 2–0 quarterfinal-series deficit against Ashkelon.[5] The latter run ended with a semifinal defeat to Maccabi Ashdod.[5]

Rishon combined a European quarterfinal appearance with its first Israeli league title in 2015/16, despite finishing the domestic regular season sixth with a losing record of 16–17.[2] In February 2016, it swept Latvia's Ventspils 2–0 in a best-of-three Europe Cup series, winning 75–73 away and 93–85 at home.[11] Shawn Dawson scored 25 points in the clinching game, Mark Lyons contributed 24 points and eight assists, and Darryl Monroe added 17 points.[11] Rishon's European campaign ended in the quarterfinals against eventual competition winner Frankfurt.[2]

The season also brought a double-overtime defeat that cost Rishon a place in the State Cup final.[12] Coach Sharon Drucker was dismissed amid strained relations with chairman Itzhak Perry and the club's management.[12] Arik Shivek replaced him with five regular-season games remaining, less than two months before the championship final.[5][2] Shivek made reaching the Final Four an explicit goal upon his arrival.[5]

As the sixth seed, Rishon defeated third-place Maccabi Haifa 3–2 in their best-of-five quarterfinal series.[2] It then beat second-place Maccabi Tel Aviv in the semifinal to set up a final against defending champion Hapoel Jerusalem at the Jerusalem Arena.[2]

Jerusalem led by as many as 13 points during the first half, but Dawson's third-quarter shooting changed the game.[2] He made three consecutive three-pointers early in the quarter as Rishon moved ahead, and the club ultimately won 83–77.[2] Monroe led the team with 29 points, converting 14 of his 17 two-point attempts.[2] Dawson finished with 21 points, including five three-pointers, as well as seven rebounds and five assists; Chris Wright added 13 points.[2]

Monroe's contribution extended beyond the final: he averaged 17.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists during the championship season and was named league MVP.[13] Across the semifinal and final, he averaged 24.5 points, seven rebounds and 2.5 assists, earning Final Four MVP honors.[13]

In October 2018, Rishon won the Winner Cup for the first time, defeating Hapoel Be'er Sheva 78–66 in the final at Beit Maccabi.[6] It had eliminated Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem earlier in the tournament.[6] Cameron Long scored 24 points in the final and was named tournament MVP.[6]

Rishon returned to the league championship game in June 2019, when its 2016 title remained its only league championship.[14] Maccabi Tel Aviv won the final 89–75, while Monroe scored 22 points for Rishon.[14] The meeting repeated the clubs' 1990/91 contest for the league title, in which Berkovich had played for Rishon.[14]

Another league final followed in 2020, again ending in defeat to Maccabi Tel Aviv.[7][3] Rishon reached that final through a semifinal against Hapoel Jerusalem decided by Adam Ariel's buzzer-beating three-pointer.[7]

The club also reached the State Cup final in 2020/21.[3] That season, it withdrew from the EuroCup because of the demands of playing during the COVID-19 period.[3] At the State Cup final, the club staged a protest by starting youth players and did not participate in Maccabi Tel Aviv's trophy ceremony.[3]

Rishon was relegated in 2022, ending the top-division spell that had begun in 1988.[3][1] In the following season, it had a club-record budget for its second-division campaign but was eliminated in the playoff quarterfinals.[3]

The successful promotion campaign came in 2025, after three consecutive seasons in the second tier.[4] Rishon began the season poorly, changed its roster and brought in Qua Grant and DJ Burns.[4] In the Leumit League final against Hapoel Eilat, Rishon recovered from a 2–1 series deficit, winning Game 4 at home to force a deciding fifth game away.[4][15]

The decider was interrupted in the second quarter when an Eilat dunk shattered the backboard glass, producing a delay of more than an hour.[15] Repairs took about 50 minutes, and play was stopped again when officials found that the replacement rim was tilted.[15] Rishon led 24–19 after the opening quarter and 40–39 at halftime, but Eilat moved ahead 62–59 by the end of the third quarter.[4]

Rishon pulled away in the final period to win 89–75, taking the series 3–2 and securing promotion.[4] Grant scored 31 points, Burns added 21 and Josh Freund contributed 17; Dusty Hannahs scored 30 for Eilat.[4] After the victory, coach Sharon Drucker summarized his approach: “I have a great staff, and I did it my way, defense, defense, defense.”[4]

In the 2026/27 regular season, Rishon defeated Hapoel Holon 78–70 on November 2 for its second consecutive win, bringing its record to 2–2 after four games.[16] Justin Tillman scored 22 points, while Yiftach Ziv recorded 14 points and six assists in his debut for the club.[16]

The nonprofit association operating the men's team was registered in 1991 and has operated it since then.[17] The association is classified as both a nonprofit institution and a public institution, and the team participated in Israel's Premier League during the tax years 2015–2019.[17]

The change from blue and yellow to orange and white before the 2005/06 season linked the team's visual identity more closely to its city.[1] Its first orange-clad roster, assembled by Guy Goodes, also marked the beginning of the run that brought Rishon back to the league semifinals in 2006.[5]