Roman Sorkin spoke on Sport 5’s “5 Ba’Air” shortly after celebrating Maccabi Tel Aviv’s 58th championship, and reflected on the clutch three-pointer he hit with about 30 seconds left in Game 4. He said the shot was instinctive: “It was on autopilot. I did not think too much, it is basketball, you want to win and I had an open look. I just shot it.” He added that he had missed a momentum three a few minutes earlier, felt stuck by his previous game, and wanted to avoid a Game 5.
Sorkin said modern basketball requires big men to shoot from outside, and that he has long been judged unfairly by one poor three-point season in Haifa. He recalled arriving in college as a shooter, said Oregon told him that without a jumper he would be only Division 3 level, and explained that after limited minutes in his first Maccabi season he learned to maximize every possession. “The issue is confidence,” he said, stressing that once his role became established he could take more shots with greater assurance.
Asked about his salary, Sorkin said he once hoped people would call him a “fool” for his contract, because that would mean he was playing well. He said he would always like to earn more, but comes from “a very low place,” so the money is meaningful and not taken for granted. “It is a blessing,” he said, adding that he tries not to become satisfied and wants to keep improving every day.
He also praised his long-running partnership with Tamir Blatt, saying they have played together since the youth ranks and that their chemistry took years to build. He said he hopes Blatt stays with him, but that is beyond his control. On NBA interest, including the New York Knicks, Sorkin said talks with the club came too late because Maccabi could not release him by September. He said he wants the NBA badly and still believes he can play there, adding that if he were a free agent, he likely could have gone.
