Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv Set for a Rare Playoff Final Showdown

Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv will meet in the playoff final for the third time in the last four years, after both teams completed sweeps in the semifinals. The article, published June 12, 2026 at 16:52, says the derby final comes with heavy history, unusual numbers, and the background of recent title battles between the archrivals.

Maccabi enters with a dominant historical edge, leading the Israeli championship table with 57 titles, while Hapoel Tel Aviv has only five. Of those 57 championships, Hapoel finished runner-up to Maccabi 21 times, and overall the Reds have ended as runners-up 22 times. They have also lost 15 straight finals. Hapoel is back in the final for the first time in about two years, while the last time Maccabi missed the final was in 2021/22. Hapoel’s previous final appearance before 2022/23 had been in 2004/05, and its last league title came in 1969, roughly 57 years ago.

The recent final history between the teams is intense. In the 2022/23 series, each side won at home, with Maccabi prevailing 90:79 in the opener, Hapoel responding with a historic 112:74 demolition in the Drive In after a 45-minute delay, and Maccabi taking the decisive game 94:90 thanks to Wade Baldwin’s late run and a huge three-pointer. Baldwin finished with eight assists and Lorenzo Brown with seven, while Jake Cohen Brown scored 31 for Hapoel in vain. The following season followed a similar pattern, with Maccabi winning the opener, Hapoel answering at home, and Maccabi sealing the title 82:74 in the deciding game behind Roman Sorkin’s 19 points.

This season, Maccabi finished the regular season first at 2:24, with both losses coming only against Hapoel, which finished second at 4:22. Across the league playoffs, Maccabi has a remarkable 29:2 record, and its only defeats in Israel this season were both to Hapoel. Including the State Cup, Maccabi’s domestic record is 32:2. The teams also met for the first time ever in the EuroLeague this season, with Maccabi winning 103:90 in Bulgaria and Hapoel winning 99:88 in Belgrade in April.