League Announces Season Awards as Finals Near

The Israeli basketball league announced its end-of-season awards on Monday, just before the championship series begins on Tuesday. The honors were led by Jared Harper of Hapoel Jerusalem, who was named league MVP for the second straight year, matching what he did in the EuroCup.

Harper helped Hapoel Jerusalem finish third in the regular season before the team was eliminated in the playoff semifinals. He led the league in efficiency rating with 21.8 and averaged 19.2 points, 5.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 27 minutes per game, while shooting 42.7% from three-point range.

Oded Katash of Maccabi Tel Aviv was chosen Coach of the Year for the second time, 19 years after winning it for the first time as coach of Hapoel Galil Elyon. He guided Maccabi to first place in the regular season with a 24-2 record, and now will try to lead the team to the title against Hapoel Tel Aviv starting Tuesday.

Roman Sorkin of Maccabi Tel Aviv was named Israeli Player of the Year for the second time. He previously won that award and the MVP in the 2023-24 season. This year he averaged 13 points and 5.5 rebounds in 24.2 minutes, while shooting 38.2% from beyond the arc. The Most Improved Player award went to Yoav Vitlam, and Yovel Hochstetter was named Discovery of the Year.