Jalen Hoard, usually one of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s quieter players, made a surprising move in Game 1 of the finals when he stepped in to defend teammate Jimmy Clark after an Hapoel Tel Aviv fan taunted him while he was on the floor. A Maccabi official said the act may not have been “the smartest thing to do,” but it showed a new side of Hoard: “He does not shy away from battles, but he does not initiate them. He is a quiet guy... As part of the trend we want from him in the future, it is also about showing more toughness.”
The incident came during Hoard’s best stretch of the season, and Maccabi believes that timing could be decisive in its championship push. Hoard was one of Maccabi’s bright spots in an otherwise poor Euroleague season, alongside Levi Randolph and Rokas Jokubaitis, but his year was interrupted by several setbacks, including his breakup with Eden Tzipel, the Iran war that drove him out of Israel, France’s disappointing EuroBasket campaign, and the disappearance of his brother in March, who was found five days later. His Euroleague numbers were solid, 11.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, but not the leap the club had hoped for.
After returning to Israel in mid-April, rumors spread in Europe that he might leave in the summer, with a possible move to Fenerbahce or Milan. Maccabi responded by raising his salary from $1 million per season to $5 million over three years. That move appears to have paid off in the Israeli playoffs, where Hoard has averaged 20.5 points and 8 rebounds, more than double his league scoring and nearly twice his playoff output from last year.
He has also delivered in the biggest games, scoring 30 points and 15 rebounds in the semifinal in Holon, then 20 points in the opening game of the final, including clutch baskets that stopped Hapoel Tel Aviv’s comeback. This is his fourth championship series in Israel, and he is still chasing his first title. Maccabi says it is building its future frontcourt around Hoard, Roman Sorkin and T.J. Leaf for the 2026/27 season, while hoping his current form can help them regain a place near the Euroleague play-in and playoffs next year.
