Nationality American / Israeli Listed weight 240 lb (109 kg) NBA draft 2002 / Undrafted Role Basketball player Weight 109 kg | Listed height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Name David Blu Height 2.01 m Career start 2002 | |
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David blu maccabi tel aviv legacy mix
David Blu (Hebrew: דוד בלו; born David Bluthenthal, July 18, 1980) is a retired Israeli American professional basketball player. He also represented the Israeli national basketball team. Standing at 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), he played at the small forward and power forward positions. He is considered to be the top shooter in Euroleague history.
Contents
- David blu maccabi tel aviv legacy mix
- Richard Listens on Sports with former Basketball Pro David Blu
- Early life
- College career
- Maccabi Tel Aviv
- Dynamo St Petersburg
- Italian teams
- Second stint with Maccabi
- Le Mans
- Third stint with Maccabi
- Israeli national team
- Career statistics
- References
Richard Listens on Sports - with former Basketball Pro David Blu!
Early life
Blu is Jewish. His mother is Jewish, and his African American father converted to Judaism. He represented the United States at the Maccabiah Games in 1997, winning a gold medal.
Before high school, Blu attended Palms Junior High.
College career
He attended the University of Southern California, which was founded by his great-great-great-grandfather, Isaias Hellman. A starter from his sophomore season on, he was consistently one of the top players in the Pac-10.
In 2001–02, his senior season, Blu was named All-Pac 10 honorable mention. He averaged 12.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He graduated in 2002.
Maccabi Tel Aviv
After graduation and being undrafted in the 2002 NBA Draft, he went to Europe and signed with Israeli professional team Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israel League. During two years with Maccabi Tel Aviv (2003–04) he lifted team to the Euroleague championship in 2004 and the Israeli National Cup twice. He scored 20 points off the bench in the 2004 Euroleague final, a 44-point Maccabi annihilation of one of his future teams, Fortitudo Bologna.
He then tried his luck in the NBA's summer league, and was signed by the Sacramento Kings on August 7, 2004, as a forward, but was released in November before the 2004–05 season started.
Dynamo St. Petersburg
Following his release from Sacramento, he received an offer from the Russian team Dynamo Saint Petersburg that just signed David Blatt, who was the coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv during the time that Blu was there. In 8 games he shot 69.6% from 2-point range.
Italian teams
After only two months in Russia, he went to Italy to play for Benetton Treviso. He shot over 60% from 2-point range, and over 51% from 3-point range.
In the summer of 2005, he signed with Virtus Bologna, and became one of their top players with 20.2 points per game.
After the 2005–06 season, he signed with Virtus' intense crosstown rivals Fortitudo. During the 2006–07 season for Fortitudo, he averaged 16 points and 4.2 rebounds in Euroleague play, and also made 71.1% of his two-point shots and 46.2% of his three-pointers.
Second stint with Maccabi
On June 15, 2007, he returned from Fortitudo to Maccabi Tel Aviv. He averaged 8.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in 25 Euroleague games for Maccabi as they advanced to the Euroleague final against winners CSKA Moscow.
Le Mans
On July 10, 2008, he signed a one-year deal with Le Mans. Over 10 games in the Euroleague, he averaged 12.5 points and 3.8 rebounds.
Third stint with Maccabi
In the summer of 2010, Blu yet again returned to Israel and signed a one-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv. He finishing the season with averages of 9.3 points and 3 rebounds in the Euroleague, and 11.1 points and 4 rebounds in the Israeli league. In July 2010 Maccabi extended Blu contract for another year.
In June 2012 Blu said that he will not return in the club for another season because he wants to finish his school in the USA.
In the summer of 2013 Blu signed a new contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Following his comeback, after up and down season, Maccabi has won the Euroleague, sixth in the club's history and his second. Over the season, he averaged 10.1 points and 3.2 rebounds over 30 games in the Euroleague. In the Final Four, he helped his team oust CSKA Moscow in the semifinal by scoring 15 points with some crucial three-pointers. In the championship final game against Real Madrid, he scored 14 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. Once the season ended, Blu announced his retirement from the professional basketball.
Israeli national team
Although he has Israeli citizenship, he declined to play for the Israeli national team in the European Championship in 2005 and 2007. But in summer of 2010 Blu finally agreed to represent Israel and made his first appearance against Portugal on July 19, 2010. Shortly after, the player formerly known as David Bluthenthal shortened his name. Blu competed with the Israeli national team in Eurobasket 2011 averaging 12.8 PPG and 3.2 RPG.
Career statistics
Note: The Euroleague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season, he also played in domestic competition.