Ex-Hapoel Tel Aviv Center Jonathan Motley Criticized for Poor EuroLeague Debut

The 2026/27 EuroLeague season commenced with a notable opening game where Crvena Zvezda Belgrade suffered a 77-83 home loss to Zalgiris Kaunas. The focus after the game, however, was on Jonathan Motley, the former Hapoel Tel Aviv center, who had a particularly dismal debut in the competition. Motley finished the game with just 2 points, 6 turnovers, and 5 fouls, accumulating a performance index rating of -13, the second-worst in EuroLeague history.

Serbian media outlets were highly critical of Motley's performance. The outlet Telegraf described his game as one he would want to forget, noting his struggles against Zalgiris's Lithuanian center and his inability to provide solutions for his team. Sportal also echoed this sentiment, calling it a debut to forget and suggesting his statistics would take time to recover from the display.

Further criticism came from Kurir, which labeled Motley's performance as "criminal" and "appalling," stating that little went right for him and the numbers proved his poor showing. Mondo questioned his mental readiness for the EuroLeague level, suggesting that while he has talent, his mental game is regressing and that Crvena Zvezda cannot rely on him, implying a need to sign another center.