Armando Bacot Joins Maccabi Tel Aviv Hoping to Revive Career After Tough EuroLeague Season

Armando Bacot, a 2.08-meter center, is set to join Maccabi Tel Aviv as the team's second or third center, aiming to revitalize his professional basketball career after a challenging season with Fenerbahce. At 25 years old, Bacot's move to the Israeli club represents perhaps his biggest opportunity since his promising youth career in Richmond, Virginia, where he was a standout high school player and part of the USA youth national team in 2018. He played college basketball at North Carolina, where he was a consistent starter and team captain, equaling Tim Duncan's ACC record for double-doubles in a season and helping his team reach the NCAA finals.

Despite his collegiate success, Bacot went undrafted in the NBA and struggled to adapt to the modern game, which increasingly favors centers with shooting range and agility. After a stint in the NBA G League and a brief period with Fenerbahce, where he averaged limited minutes and showed inefficiency, Bacot is looking to rebuild his career. He impressed with his rebounding and occasional three-point shooting, shooting 33.3% from beyond the arc in the G League and at Fenerbahce, showing potential as a stretch big man.

Bacot's defensive game has weaknesses, particularly his slower foot speed and foul trouble, but Maccabi Tel Aviv plans to use him as a backup center behind Daniel Theis, reducing pressure on him. Bacot expressed enthusiasm about joining a club with a large fan base and high expectations, stating, "I wanted to be part of a big team with a wide fan base. It brings pressure, but I am ready." His signing follows a season where he struggled to secure significant playing time in EuroLeague playoffs and showed limited offensive impact under coach Dimitris Itoudis at Fenerbahce.

Bacot's journey also includes a unique cultural note: he appeared as himself in three episodes of the Netflix series "Outer Banks," filmed in North Carolina. His transition to Maccabi Tel Aviv will test whether he can adapt his game to European basketball's demands and contribute meaningfully to a team with EuroLeague ambitions.