By John Rammas/ info@eurohoops.net
At 31, on November 10, 2016, Dagan Yivzori made the only EuroLeague appearance of his career, which featured 11 Israeli teams, including a two-year EuroLeague stint at Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Eurohoops recalls that game, a 2016-17 Regular Season Round 6 fixture, as Yivzori logging merely four seconds on the court shaped the all-time record for the shortest ever career in Europe’s premier club continental competition. Maccabi lost, 83-75, to Panathinaikos in overtime.
Yivzori, now 35, waited several years for the opportunity to play in EuroLeague. Maccabi Tel Aviv came along as his big chance after his first run at Maccabi Haifa. However, he failed to earn a substantial role at the Israeli powerhouse. A challenging stint generated only four seconds of EuroLeague action in Athens, Greece.
In the first season upon his arrival, Maccabi Tel Aviv was eliminated in the first round of EuroLeague and in the Last 32 of EuroCup. He did register three EuroCup matches with 4.7 points over 8:33 per contest. At the domestic level, he averaged 6.6 points and 15 minutes per game under head coaches Guy Goodes and Zan Tabak.
Three months into his second season, he was released after being limited to the aforementioned EuroLeague appearance, and 2.9 points and 10 minutes per contest through eight games played in the Israeli League.
Rami Hadar replacing Erez Edelstein about one month prior to the Maccabi visit at Panathinaikos was the head coach opting to match him against James Feldeine for the final possession of the first period, the four seconds marking the all-time low.
0 pts | 0 2PT | 0 3PT | 0 FT | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 0 tov | 00:04 min | 1G
Beyond the unwanted record, he was crowned Israeli League champion in 2010 as a member of Hapoel Gilboa Galil and 2014 Israeli League Final Four MVP during his first stint at Maccabi Haifa.
His games played count went up to 242 at the domestic level with 7.9 points per contest, 24 in EuroCup with 9.2 points per contest, and the one brief appearance in EuroLeague.
