JERUSALEM, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Super League club Maccabi Raanana announced on Saturday night the signing of point guard Javion Hamlet, who most recently played for the Tianjin Pioneers in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
The 28-year-old American appeared in 102 games over three seasons with Tianjin after joining the club in 2023. This season, he played 33 games, averaging 21.8 points, 5.8 assists, and 3.2 rebounds.
His most recent appearance came nine days ago in the 103-93 road loss to the Zhejiang Lions in the final round of the regular season, where he recorded 11 points, five assists, and three rebounds.
Hamlet also has experience in China's second-tier National Basketball League, having played for the Hefei Storm, Wuhan Kunpeng and Guangxi Rhinos. Before moving to China, he spent time with French side ALM Evreux, the Texas Legends in the NBA G League and the Newcastle Eagles in Britain's top league.
Raanana is currently second from bottom in the 14-team Israeli Super League with a 4-16 win-loss record, with the bottom two teams set to be relegated at the end of the season.
The team's head coach, Guny Izraely, said Hamlet "will help us a lot with ball handling, something the team really needs, and it will allow us to play with very interesting formations."
"I'm really excited to join the team, looking forward to winning games and improving," Hamlet added. ■
