Maccabi Tel Aviv Eyes Fenerbahce Center Armando Bacot for Frontcourt Reinforcement

Maccabi Tel Aviv is continuing to build for the 2026/27 season while also fighting in the current playoff race and chasing a season record in Israel. One of its main priorities remains center, a position the club feels was underfilled this season, and it is also searching for additional big men to play alongside Roman Sorkin.

After the war with Iran, Marcus Bingham’s family vetoed a move to Israel, making a transfer from the former Hapoel Tel Aviv center unlikely despite Maccabi repeatedly raising its offer. Fenerbahce also made Bingham a strong proposal, and according to Sport5, the new candidate for Maccabi is Fenerbahce’s current center, Armando Bacot.

Bacot is 26 and 2.08 meters tall. He joined Fenerbahce last summer for his first European stop, after spending the 2024/25 season, his first after college, in the NBA G League with Memphis’ affiliate. Before that, he played five seasons at North Carolina.

In the G League, Bacot posted 16.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, shooting 46.5% on two-pointers and 33.3% from three. Those numbers did not carry over to EuroLeague play, where he averaged only 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 26 games, with 10 minutes per game. In the Turkish league he produced 6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 17.5 minutes, shooting 49.4% from the field and 34.6% from deep.

Bacot has not appeared for Fenerbahce in the league since April 4, and his last EuroLeague game was on April 7 against Hapoel Tel Aviv. The report says he lost his place in Sarunas Jasikevicius’ roster amid adjustment problems and the return of Chris Silva from injury in March, with foreign-player limits also affecting his role in the Turkish league.