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 Berkovich in 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1954-02-17)17 February 1954 (age 71) Kfar Saba, Israel | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| College | UNLV (1975–1976) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1976:undrafted | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1971–1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Shooting guard | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1971–1975, 1976–1988 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1993 | Maccabi Rishon LeZion | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Hapoel Jerusalem | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| FIBA Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Moshe "Miki"Berkovich (orMickey Berkowitz;Hebrew:משה "מיקי" ברקוביץ'; born 17 February 1954) is an Israeli former professionalbasketball player. A 193 cmshooting guard, he is considered to be one of the greatest Israeli basketball players of all time.[1]
Berkovich was named one ofFIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. In 1998, he was named Israel's Top Sportsmen of the 50 YearJubilee (1948–1998).[2][3] He was named one of the50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors, by a select panel in February 2008, and was then honored at the2008 EuroLeague Final Four in Madrid. He became aFIBA Hall of Fame player in 2017.[4] In 2018, he was named one of the 101 Greats of European Basketball. In 2024, he received theIsrael Prize in the category of outstanding athletic achievement.[5]
Born inKfar Saba, Berkovich began his long and distinguished career withMaccabi Tel Aviv, at the age of 11, when he joined the youth club. At the age of 15, he was playing for the junior squad. In 1971, at the age of 17, he made his debut with the senior men's team inIsrael's top professional league.
In 1975, Berkovich playedcollege basketball atUNLV in the United States. During the 1975–76 season, he played in 11 games and averaged 2.5 points per game as the Runnin' Rebels finished 28–1 and were the number one seed in the Western Region of theNCAA tournament. They defeatedBoise State 103–78 in the first round, although Berkovich registered no points and only one rebound. UNLV then lost toArizona 114–109 in the second round; Berkovich did not play in the game. He returned toMaccabi after just one year.
Berkovich returned to Israel following the 1975–76 season and played a considerable role inMaccabi Tel Aviv's fortunes during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1977, Berkovich helped Maccabi Tel Aviv to win its firstFIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague) championship by defeatingMobilgirgi Varese by a score of 78–77 inthe final, held inPionir Hall,Belgrade, andCSKA Moscow 91–79 in the semifinals game held inVirton, Belgium. This achievement led toTal Brody's famous statement of "We are on the map, not only in basketball".
In 1981, the second FIBA European Champions Cup title came for Maccabi, against another Italian team,Sinudyne Bologna. Berkovich scored the winning basket from anassist byMoti Aroesti, setting the score at 80–77. There were nothree-point shots back then, so the Italians could only score a two-point basket in return. Maccabi won the game by a score of 80–79.
Berkovich's career in Maccabi came to an end in 1988 when he and Aroesti joinedMaccabi Rishon LeZion. Later, he played withHapoel Jerusalem andHapoel Tel Aviv.
During his playing years with Maccabi, he won 16Israeli national league championship titles and 13Israeli national cups.
After theEuroBasket 1979, Berkovich had contract offers from theNew Jersey Nets and theAtlanta Hawks from theNBA, but a contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv stood in the way. Maccabi's management insisted that he stay in the team, so they had to settle the case incivil court.
In 1972, Berkovich took theIsraeli under-18 national team to a fourth-place finish at the1972 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship and he was the leading scorer of the tournament. He also won a gold medal at the1974 Asian Games inTehran.
In 1979, Berkovich was a part of the seniorIsraeli national team that finished second at the1979 EuroBasket in Turin. Berkovich was namedthe tournament's MVP.
Upon his retirement, he was second all-time in appearances (165) and points scored (2,842) among members of the senior men's Israeli national basketball team.
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Berkovich retired from basketball in 1995, after which he wrote an autobiography calledBorn to Win. He went on to become the owner of theA.S. Ramat HaSharon basketball team. Both of his sons, Roi andNiv Berkovich, played for the team at the time. He later became the director of basketball operations ofIroni Nahariya, but left the team after just one year.
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