This opinion piece argues that the 2025-26 season has exposed three very different management philosophies at the top of Israeli basketball. The coaches of Hapoel Jerusalem, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv, Jonathan Alon, Oded Katash and Dimitris Itoudis, are portrayed as the public faces of those choices, but the real story is how each club prioritizes success.
In Jerusalem, Alon took rare responsibility after another season without the trophy the club wanted, speaking calmly, without excuses or blame. But the article says Jerusalem’s problem is bigger than its coach: the club spent the year trying to stay competitive in every competition at once, avoiding a clear decision about its main goal. That approach could have produced a historic season with every title, or a season with no titles at all, and the author says the small gap between those outcomes points to a lack of focus. The piece suggests Jerusalem now understands it may need to give Europe higher priority, which would also make its success criteria clearer.
Maccabi Tel Aviv is described as the opposite case. It made a clear choice to put the Israeli league first, even though that meant using a large part of its budget on Israeli players and accepting less depth and less foreign talent. The club could do that because it has guaranteed EuroLeague status, allowing it to absorb a weaker European season without losing its place. Katash is presented as the ideal coach for that model, and although Maccabi started EuroLeague play poorly, it later became more organized, more connected and more dangerous offensively. Still, the article warns that the 2026 EuroLeague is more competitive and Maccabi may soon find that its current balance is no longer enough.
Hapoel Tel Aviv is said to have gone all in on Itoudis’s vision. The club gave him authority, power and resources, and he delivered major European results, including winning the EuroCup and securing a EuroLeague spot. But the article says the price is a weaker connection to the domestic environment, with tension around the media, some fan discomfort and no Israeli dominance that matches the club’s financial strength. The piece cites the ongoing pursuit of Yam Madar, investment in the roster, the expected arrival of Carrington and continued spending as proof that the club is willing to pay almost any price to win. The central question now, it says, is whether Hapoel wants a coach who can lift it to Europe’s top level, or one who can build an empire that rules both Europe and Israel.
