Yam Madar (; born ) is an Israeli professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League and the EuroLeague. He also represents the Israel senior national team internationally.

Madar joined Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League in 2018. He debuted for their senior team that year, at age 17, becoming one of the youngest players in club history. Two years later, he became the youngest player to win the Israeli Premier League Most Improved Player award. He won a gold medal for Israel at the youth level, playing at the 2019 FIBA U20 European Championship. Madar also earned a spot in the All-Tournament Team. He was named the 2023 EuroLeague Rising Star.

Madar was selected with the 47th overall pick by the Boston Celtics in the 2020 NBA draft.

Early life Madar was born and raised in the town of Beit Dagan, Israel, to a family of Mizrahi Jewish (Yemenite-Jewish) descent. His father Zohar Madar is a former mayor of Beit Dagan. In Hebrew, his first name means "sea".

Madar played for Maccabi Beit Dagan and Hapoel Tel Aviv youth teams.

Professional career Hapoel Tel Aviv (2018–2021) On 24 June 2018, Madar signed a four-year deal with Hapoel Tel Aviv. On 21 September 2018, he made his debut in a FIBA Champions League qualifying round match against Spirou Charleroi, playing 15 minutes off the bench. In 2018-19 as a 17-year-old, he played in 34 games (all of them off the bench), but only played 9.9 minutes per game, averaging 2.7 points per game.

In 2019-20 as an 18-year-old, he played in 32 games (starting 17 of them), averaging 24.4 minutes, 10.1 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.0 steals per game, whicle shooting 81% from the free throw line.

On 3 July 2020, Madar recorded a career-high 28 points, shooting 11-of-17 from the field and 3-of-3 from the line in a 106–105 loss to Maccabi Ashdod. In the quarter-finals series versus league leader Maccabi Tel Aviv, Madar was the leading scorer with 17.3 points while shooting 45% from the floor and 89% from the free throw line. He added 5.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals, but despite his performance, Maccabi won 2–1. In Hapoel's only win of the series, he had 22 points, shooting 8-of-16 from the field and 5-of-5 from the line. He added 6 assists and 5 rebounds. In July, Madar was selected as the Israeli Premier League Most Improved Player, becoming the youngest player ever to receive this award.

In 2020–21, playing in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, in 35 games (33 of which were starts) he averaged 32.4 minutes, 17.1 points, 5.2 assists (9th in the league), and 1.3 steals per game, while shooting 41% from three-point range and 83% from the free throw line. In 2021 he was named to the All-League Second Team."C's draft-and-stash pick plans on joining team this season ", nbcsportsboston.com.

Partizan (2021–2023) On August 18, 2021, he signed with Serbian club Partizan of the ABA League. In 2021–22 with Partizan he averaged 18.4 minutes, 7.5 points, 2.4 assists, and 0.8 steals per game, while shooting 41% from three-point range and 83% from the free throw line.

During the 2022–23 season, Madar played in the EuroLeague for the first time. That season Partizan was eliminated by Real Madrid in a tight playoffs series. Over the season, in 76 games Madar averaged 15.8 minutes, 6.6 points, 2.1 assists, and 0.9 steals per game, while shooting 40% from three-point range and 85% from the free throw line."Yam Madar," realgm.com. Partizan ended the 2022–23 season by lifting the ABA League championship trophy, after 3–2 score against Crvena zvezda in the Finals series. Madar was named the 2023 EuroLeague Rising Star."Yam Madar is the 2022-23 EuroLeague Rising Star winner," euroleaguebasketball, May 12, 2023.

Fenerbahçe (2023–2024) On July 12, 2023, Madar signed a two-plus-one-year contract with Turkish club Fenerbahçe. Over the 2023-24 season, in 52 games Madar averaged 18.0 minutes, 6.0 points, and 3.6 assists per game, while shooting 52% from the field, 40% from three-point range, and 83% from the free throw line.

Bayern Munich (2024)

On 16 July 2024, Madar signed with Bayern Munich of the Basketball Bundesliga and the EuroLeague. In the 2024 season, in 8 games Madar averaged 12.3 minutes, 4.3 points, and 1.8 assists per game. On November 28 of the same year, at his request due to his frustration with his limited playing time, the club granted him his release."Yam Madar leaves Bayern to join Hapoel Tel Aviv ," Eurohoops, November 28, 2024."Yam Madar voices frustration, might leave Bayern: 'I want to play'," Eurohoops, November 26, 2024.

Return to Hapoel Tel Aviv (2024–2026) On 28 November 2024, Madar returned to Hapoel Tel Aviv. Over the 2024–25 season, in 12 games Madar averaged 23.2 minutes, 10.9 points, 4.9 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.

On September 24, 2025, Madar underwent surgery for appendicitis and was sidelined for Winner's Cup games.

In 2025–26, in 46 games Madar averaged 20.2 minutes, 10.7 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game, while shooting 39% from three-point range, and 86% from the free throw line.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (2026–present)

On July 12, 2026, Madar signed a three-year deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League and the EuroLeague.

NBA draft rights Madar was selected with the 47th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics; however, he continued with Hapoel Tel Aviv for the 2020–21 season. He played for the Celtics in the 2021 NBA summer league, scoring 8 points on 4-6 shooting in 17 minutes at his debut, an 85–83 win against the Atlanta Hawks.

National team career Junior national team

In July 2018, Madar played in the 2018 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division B with the Israeli Under-18 team, and averaged 11.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.

In July 2019, Madar won the 2019 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship with the Israeli Under-20 team. Madar led the tournament in assists with 7.7 per game, along with 15.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.4 steals for 19.6 PIR per game, while shooting 52% from the field, 48% from three-point range, and 81% from the free throw line, earning a spot in the All-Tournament Team, alongside his teammate Deni Avdija.

Senior national team In February 2019, Madar was named to the Israel senior national basketball team. In 28 games for the team through June 2026, he averaged 25 minutes, 12.3 points, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, while shooting 86.7% from the free throw line.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

| style="text-align:left"| 2022–23 | style="text-align:left"| Partizan | 38 || 24 || 13.4 || .453 || .338 || .875 || 1.2 || 1.6 || .6 || .2 || 5.8 || 5.0 |- | style="text-align:left"| 2023–24 | style="text-align:left"| Fenerbahçe | 30 || 4 || 13.5 || .457 || .325 || .829 || 1.2 || 2.0 || .6 || .1 || 4.3 || 4.8 |- | style="text-align:left"| 2024–25 | style="text-align:left"| Bayern Munich | 5 || 0 || 11.9 || .429 || .143 || 1.000 || 1.4 || 1.6 || .8 || .2 || 4.2 || 4.6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 73 || 28 || 13.5 || .452 || .322 || .857 || 1.2 || 1.8 || .6 || .1 || 5.1 || 4.9

EuroCup

| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22 | style="text-align:left;"| Partizan | 17 || 4 || 18.3 || .442 || .465 || .839 || 2.9 || 2.8 || .6 || .1 || 8.6 || 9.6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 17 || 4 || 18.3 || .442 || .465 || .839 || 2.9 || 2.8 || .6 || .1 || 8.6 || 9.6

Domestic leagues {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;" ! Year ! Team ! League ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19 || style="text-align:left;"| Hapoel Tel Aviv || style="text-align:center;"|Israeli Basketball Premier League || 32 || 9.7 || .427 || .250 || .731 || 1.0 || 1.0 || .7 || .0 || 2.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20 || style="text-align:left;"| Hapoel Tel Aviv || style="text-align:center;"|Israeli Basketball Premier League || 32 || 24.4 || .444 || .267 || .812 || 2.4 || 3.4 || 1.0 || .2 || 10.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21 || style="text-align:left;"| Hapoel Tel Aviv || style="text-align:center;"|Israeli Basketball Premier League || 30 || 33.2 || .469 || .409 || .828 || 3.0 || 5.2 || 1.3 || .4 || 17.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22 || style="text-align:left;"| Partizan || style="text-align:center;"|ABA || 33 || 18.4 || .524 || .373 || .825 || 2.3 || 2.1 || .8 || .3 || 7.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23 || style="text-align:left;"| Partizan || style="text-align:center;"|ABA || 35 || 17.6 || .503 || .482 || .833 || 1.5 || 2.5 || 1.1 || .2 || 7.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24 || style="text-align:left;"| Fenerbahçe || style="text-align:center;"|TBSL || 19 || 24.4 || .559 || .455 || .871 || 4.3 || 6.0 || 1.4 || .0 || 10.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2024–25 || style="text-align:left;"| Bayern Munich || style="text-align:center;"|BBL || 8 || 12.3 || .393 || .222 || 1.000 || 1.6 || 1.8 || .3 || .0 || 4.3

See also List of Jews in sports List of Israelis

References

External links

Yam Madar at the Israeli Basketball Super League