Maccabi Tel Aviv Faces Tough Choice Over Dual New Immigrant Players for 2026/27 Season

Maccabi Tel Aviv is advancing its roster planning for the 2026/27 basketball season, focusing on filling its foreign interior player slots. The club recently made a surprising decision regarding one of its players for the upcoming season: Shane Hunter, a center with Jewish roots who signed a three-year contract last year. Initially, the team considered loaning Hunter to another Israeli Premier League club to start his status as a "new immigrant" player, but Hunter and his agent opposed this. Instead, Hunter played for Legia Warsaw in Poland, winning the national championship.

Now, Maccabi Tel Aviv has decided to bring Hunter back to the team. However, this move presents a significant challenge due to the Israeli league's "new immigrant" player rule, which allows only one such player on the court at a time. Will Rayman, another player on the team, still holds "new immigrant" status for the upcoming season because his previous season in France reset his eligibility clock. This means the team must choose between Hunter and Rayman for each game. Rayman will lose this status after the next season, easing the restriction.

Historically, only one team, Hapoel Haifa, has held two "new immigrant" players simultaneously, and only briefly before releasing one. Hunter, 25 years old and 2.08 meters tall, played college basketball at Nova Southeastern University, where he stood out in Division II, attracting attention from Israeli teams. In 2024, he signed with Sweden's Norrköping, winning the championship and earning Finals MVP honors with averages of 14.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Last season, he played for Legia Warsaw, averaging 9.2 points and 5 rebounds in the Polish league and 8.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in the Champions Basketball League group stage.

Maccabi Tel Aviv has yet to comment publicly on this roster decision as it navigates the complexities of league regulations and player management for the next season.