_(cropped).jpg) Leaf with theIndiana Pacers in 2018 | |
| No. 22 – Maccabi Tel Aviv | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward /Center |
| League | Ligat HaAl EuroLeague |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1997-04-30)April 30, 1997 (age 28) Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Nationality | Israeli / American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 222 lb (101 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Foothills Christian (El Cajon, California) |
| College | UCLA (2016–2017) |
| NBA draft | 2017: 1st round, 18th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Indiana Pacers |
| Playing career | 2017–present |
| Career history | |
| 2017–2020 | Indiana Pacers |
| 2017 | →Fort Wayne Mad Ants |
| 2021 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 2022 | Guangzhou Loong Lions |
| 2022–2024 | Beijing Ducks |
| 2024–2025 | Nanjing Monkey Kings |
| 2025–present | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Medals | |
Ty Jacob Leaf (Hebrew:טיי ג'ייקוב ליף; born April 30, 1997)[1] is an Israeli–American professionalbasketball player forMaccabi Tel Aviv of theLigat HaAl and theEuroLeague. After playing one season ofcollege basketball for theUCLA Bruins, he was selected by theIndiana Pacers in the first round of the2017 NBA draft with the 18th overall pick.
Leaf was named anAll-American as a high school senior in 2016. As a UCLA freshman in 2016–17, he earned first-teamall-conference honors in thePac-12. He began his NBA career with three seasons in Indiana, but was unable to carry over his college success.[2] He joined thePortland Trail Blazers as a free agent in 2021. Leaf also played forIsrael's Under-18 junior national team at the2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship B Division.[3]
Leaf was born inTel Aviv, Israel, to Karen andBrad Leaf.[1] His father was playing professional basketball in Israel at the time,[4] and he enjoyed a 17-year career in the country.[5] Leaf lived his first2+1⁄2 years in Tel Aviv before growing up inLakeside, California, inSan Diego County.[1] His father coached him in summer leagues prior to high school. Despite possessing the height of apower forward—he stood 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) in junior high—Leaf played on the perimeter to developguard skills. His father wanted him to be versatile like the big men that he had competed against as a pro in Europe.[6]
Leaf attendedFoothills Christian High School inEl Cajon, California, where he also played under his father.[7] As a junior, Leaf averaged 27.4points, 14.2rebounds, 4.8assists, 1.8steals and 2.7blocks per game, leading Foothills Christian to the San Diego Section Division II championship.[8]Cal-Hi Sports named him their Division II State Player of the Year.[9]
In his senior year, Leaf led the team to a No. 3 state ranking after averaging 28.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. He scored a season-high 44 points in a loss toChino Hills, who were led by future teammateLonzo Ball.[10] Leaf earnedMcDonald's andBallislife All-American honors, andUSA Today named him second-teamAll-USA.[11][12] He was a runner-up to Ball forCalifornia Mr. Basketball.[13] Leaf finished his high school career second all-time in the San Diego Section in both points (3,022) and rebounds (1,476). He trailed only his brother, Troy, in points (3,318 for Foothills Christian from 2007 to 2010) and Angelo Chol in rebounds (1,732 withHoover from 2008 to 2011).[14][15]
Leaf originally committed in 2014 to play forArizona under coachSean Miller.[16] He tried out for theUnited States under-19 national team, also coached by Miller, but was cut in training camp in June 2015.[17] In August, Leaf decommitted from Arizona, leading to speculation that the cut by Miller was a motivating factor.[18] He signed withUCLA three months later, choosing them overOregon andSan Diego State.[8][18] A consensus five-star and overall top-20 recruit,[19][20] he joined hisAmateur Athletic Union (AAU) teammates from the Compton Magic,Ike Anigbogu andKobe Paras, who also committed to UCLA.[21] The Bruins recruiting class also included Ball, who along with Leaf were both expected to lead a UCLA turnaround in2016–17 after the Bruins finished just 15–17 the year before.[20]
On December 5, 2016, Leaf was named Pac-12 Player of the Week following his performance atKentucky, where he registered 17 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists.[22] He and Ball were named to the mid-season watch list for theJohn R. Wooden Award, given annually to the top college player in the nation; UCLA was one of just five schools with two candidates on the list.[23] The two were also among 30 on the midseason watch list for theNaismith College Player of the Year.[24] On February 1, 2017, Leaf scored a career-high 32 points on 14-for-18 shooting and added 14 rebounds in a 95–79 win overWashington State, which ended a two-game losing streak for No. 11 UCLA.[25] He missed the regular season finale with a sprained left ankle, which he suffered five minutes into the prior game againstWashington.[24][26]
Leaf finished the season as UCLA's leading scorer with 16.3 points per game. He also averaged 8.2 rebounds and ranked third infield goal percentage (61.7) amongPower Five conference players.[27][28] He received honorable mention from theAssociated Press (AP) for theirAll-American team,[28] and was named first-teamAll-Pac-12 along with teammates Lonzo Ball andBryce Alford.[29] Leaf and Ball were also placed on the Pac-12 All-Freshman team.[29] On March 30, Leaf announced that he was leaving UCLA anddeclaring for the2017 NBA draft.[30]
Leaf was selected by theIndiana Pacers in the first round of the2017 NBA draft with the 18th overall pick, and he signed a three-year contract worth $7,249,200.[31] He was joined in Indiana by Anigbogu, who was selected by the Pacers in the second round.[32] Leaf began2017–18 as a fixture in the Pacers' rotation, averaging 16.2 minutes and five shots per contest through the first eight games. However, he struggled on defense, and his playing time fell as Indiana coachNate McMillan tightened his rotation. In December 2017, Leaf wasassigned to theFort Wayne Mad Ants of theNBA G League and averaged 23.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in a three-game stint before returning to the Pacers.[33] He finished with 52 games played during the regular season, but saw limited playing time towards the end as the Pacers qualified forthe playoffs.[34]
In2018–19, Leaf's minutes were limited playing behind big menMyles Turner,Domantas Sabonis,Thaddeus Young andKyle O'Quinn. On February 28, 2019, he had a career-high 18 points in a season-high 22 minutes in a 122–115 win over theMinnesota Timberwolves. Leaf was forced into the game early after Turner and O'Quinn got into foul trouble guarding the Wolves'Karl-Anthony Towns, and held his own defensively against theAll-Star center.[35] In the regular-season finale, Leaf had career highs of 28 points and 10 rebounds for his first careerdouble-double in a 135–134 win over theAtlanta Hawks.[36][37]
Leaf worked on his jump shot during the offseason leading up to the2019–20 season.[38] Indiana exercised their contract option on his fourth year, guaranteeing him $4.3 million for 2020–21.[39] On November 3, 2019, Leaf had 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds while getting extra time as a backup center in a 108–95 win over theChicago Bulls.[40][41] However, he fell out of the rotation by the end of the month.[42][43] He played in just 28 games during the season after appearing in over 50 in each of his first two seasons.[44] Leaf did not develop into his projected role as astretch four, making just 26.5% of histhree-point field goals in his last two years with Indiana. In three seasons with the Pacers, he averaged 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.[45]
On November 25, 2020, Leaf was traded along with a 2027 second-round draft pick to theOklahoma City Thunder in exchange for guardJalen Lecque.[46] On December 18, Leaf was waived by the Thunder after their final preseason game.[47][48]
On April 13, 2021, Leaf signed atwo-way contract with thePortland Trail Blazers.[49]
On January 12, 2022, Leaf joined theGuangzhou Loong Lions of theCBA,[50] and averaged 25 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.[51]
On October 2, 2022, Leaf signed with theBeijing Ducks.[52]
On September 20, 2024, Leaf signed with theNanjing Monkey Kings.[53]
On June 29, 2025, Leaf signed withMaccabi Tel Aviv of theLigat HaAl and theEuroLeague.[54] He signed a three year deal with the team.[55]
After being cut by coachMiller from theU.S. Under-19 junior national team in 2015, Leaf joinedIsrael's under-18 junior national team the following month in July, to play in the2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division B in Austria.[5][17] Although Israel lost 73–72 in the Division B final, Leaf was named tournament's MVP, after averaging 16.1 points per game, on 55 percent shooting, to go along with 8.4 rebounds per game in nine games played.[17][56] In 2018 he said "Playing for the senior [Israel] national team and helping the guys is one goal of my career."[57]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Indiana | 53 | 0 | 8.7 | .471 | .429 | .625 | 1.5 | .2 | .1 | .1 | 2.9 |
| 2018–19 | Indiana | 58 | 1 | 9.0 | .541 | .258 | .613 | 2.2 | .4 | .2 | .3 | 3.9 |
| 2019–20 | Indiana | 28 | 1 | 7.9 | .419 | .278 | .438 | 2.5 | .3 | .4 | .1 | 3.0 |
| 2020–21 | Portland | 7 | 0 | 5.0 | .500 | – | 1.000 | .7 | .1 | .3 | .1 | 1.7 |
| Career | 146 | 2 | 8.5 | .492 | .341 | .585 | 1.9 | .3 | .2 | .2 | 3.3 | |
Source:[58]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Indiana | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | – | – | – | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| 2019 | Indiana | 1 | 0 | 10.0 | .000 | .000 | 1.000 | 3.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| 2021 | Portland | 3 | 0 | 2.3 | .750 | – | – | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| Career | 5 | 0 | 4.2 | .429 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.2 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.6 | |
Source:[58]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | UCLA | 35 | 35 | 29.9 | .617 | .466 | .679 | 8.2 | 2.4 | .6 | 1.1 | 16.3 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | Guangzhou | 15 | 11 | 32.1 | .569 | .300 | .804 | 11.7 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 25.0 |
Source:[59]
TJ Leaf has fallen out of the rotation and more minutes for Sabonis and Holiday has resulted in rookie center Goga Bitadze also not leaving the bench.
