Nitzan Yehuda Hanochi (Hebrew: ניצן יהודה חנוכי; born 10 June 1986) is an Israeli professional basketball player who last played for Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He was named the Israeli Basketball Premier League Most Improved Player in 2011, and the Israeli Basketball Premier League Defensive Player of the Year in 2012.

Nitzan Hanochi
Hanochi playing for Rishon LeZion in March 2017
Free Agent
PositionShooting guard
Personal information
Born (1986-06-10) 10 June 1986 (age 38)
Ra'anana, Israel
NationalityIsraeli
Listed height1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Career information
High schoolMetro West, Ra'anana
Playing career2004–present
Career history
2004–2008Bnei Hasharon
2004–2005Maccabi Giva'at Shmuel
2008–2009Ironi Nahariya
2009–2010Hapoel Afula
2010–2013Maccabi Rishon LeZion
2013–2014Hapoel Eilat
2014–2018Maccabi Rishon LeZion
2018–2021Bnei Herzliya
Career highlights and awards

Early life

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Hanochi was born in Ra'anana, he played for Maccabi Ra'anana youth teams.

Hanochi also played high school basketball for Metro West High School team in Ra'anana and led them to win the national championship in the 2003–04 season.[1]

Professional career

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In 2004, Hanochi started his professional career with Bnei Hasharon, but later was loaned to Maccabi Giva'at Shmuel.[2]

On July 27, 2006, Hanochi signed a two-year contract extension with Bnei Hasharon.[3]

On July 5, 2008, Hanochi signed with Ironi Nahariya for the 2008–09 season, joining his former head coach Yakov Gino.[4]

On August 13, 2009, Hanochi signed with Hapoel Afula for the 2009–10 season.[5]

On July 5, 2010, Hanochi signed a three-year deal with Maccabi Rishon LeZion, under head coach Effi Birnbaum.[6] On February 12, 2011, Hanochi was named Player of the Month for games played in January.[7] On May 19, 2011, Hanochi was named Most Improved Player of the 2010–11 Israeli League season.[8] In his second season with Rishon LeZion, Hanochi became the team's captain and later was named Israeli League All-Star and the Defensive Player of the Year.

On July 9, 2013, Hanochi signed with Hapoel Eilat for the 2013–14 season.[9]

On July 9, 2014, Hanochi returned for a second stint in Maccabi Rishon LeZion, signing a two-year contract.[10]

On March 14, 2016, Hanochi signed a two-year contract extension with Rishon LeZion.[11] That season, Hanochi helped Rishon LeZion to win the 2016 Israeli League Championship.[12]

On December 18, 2017, Hanochi missed Rishon LeZion's game against Bnei Herzliya due to injury, Hanochi's absence ended his streak of consecutive games played at 242—the longest longest streak in the history of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[13]

On July 12, 2018, Hanochi returned to Bnei Herzliya for a second stint, signing a three-year deal.[14]

Israeli national team

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Hanochi was a member of the Israeli national team at the Eurobasket 2013.[15]

Hanochi was also a member of the Israeli Under-18 [16] and Under-20[17] national teams.

References

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  1. ^ "ליגת בתי הספר: מטרווסט רעננה ו-ויצו הדסים אלופים". ynet.co.il (in Hebrew). 21 January 2004.
  2. ^ "דרור כהן וניצן חנוכי חתמו בגבעת שמואל". nrg.co.il (in Hebrew). 10 August 2004.
  3. ^ "ניצן חנוכי חתם לשנתיים בבני השרון". ynet.co.il (in Hebrew). 27 July 2006.
  4. ^ "חנוכי חתם בנהריה, יעקוסי גם שם". walla.co.il (in Hebrew). 5 July 2008.
  5. ^ "עפולה מתחזקת: ניר כהן וניצן חנוכי חתמו בקבוצה". one.co.il (in Hebrew). 13 August 2009.
  6. ^ "המטרה של מכבי ראשל"צ: לשמור על יציבות". ynet.co.il (in Hebrew). 5 July 2010.
  7. ^ "נבחרי חודש ינואר – אפי בירנבוים וניצן חנוכי". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). 12 February 2011.
  8. ^ "פארגו, אליהו, רוט, מקל ומיצ'ל בחמישיית העונה". one.co.il (in Hebrew). 19 May 2011.
  9. ^ "ניצן חנוכי חתם באילת, קטש: נכס לכל מאמן". one.co.il (in Hebrew). 9 July 2013.
  10. ^ "Tony Younger and Nitzan Hanochi move to Maccabi Rishon LeZion". Sportando.com. 9 July 2014.
  11. ^ "Nitzan Hanochi signed a two-year extension with Maccabi Rishon". Sportando.com. 14 March 2016.
  12. ^ "לראשונה בתולדותיה: מכבי ראשל'צ אלופת המדינה". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). 9 June 2016.
  13. ^ "רצף השיא של ניצן חנוכי על סף סיום". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). 13 December 2017.
  14. ^ "חוזר לשרון: ניצן חנוכי חתם בהרצליה". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). 12 July 2018.
  15. ^ "Hanochi at the 2013 FIBA Eurobasket championship". fibaeurope.com.
  16. ^ "Hanochi at the 2004 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship". fibaeurope.com.
  17. ^ "Hanochi at the 2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship". fibaeurope.com.
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