Maccabi Tel Aviv signs Oz Blayzer

Maccabi Tel Aviv has signed Oz Blazer for the coming season. The 27-year-old Israeli forward (1.99m) has faced the Yellows in the Final Four wearing the Maccabi Rishon LeZion uniform for the past two years and will now wear the champion’s uniform after seven seasons in the Israeli league.

“I want to welcome Oz Blayzer to Maccabi Tel Aviv. He is one more quality player that will give great solutions to our team and will be part of our family”, Coach Giannis Sfairopoulos told maccabi.co.il. “Oz is an Israeli player who proved that he is ready for the next step and that’s why we wanted to bring him to our club”.

“I am happy and excited to come to Maccabi Tel Aviv”, Oz Blayzer admitted in his response to the club’s official website. “I am ready for the new challenge, to prove my place and fight for the team. There is no Israeli player who grew up here and does not know the meaning of a club like Maccabi. I’m already waiting to start and meet all the players and team. The thing I’m most looking forward to, and even already imagine it happening, is the return of the fans to the arenas and to meet the fans as a Maccabi player in the arena”.

Oz Blayzer, born in December 1992, is considered a strong and experienced forward who knows how to handle the ball and also score beyond the arc (43% and 41% from 3pt respectively in the last two seasons in the playoffs). He knows most of the current roster well and played with some of the players in the Israeli national team.

During the last season, Blayzer played with Rishon LeZion five times against Maccabi. In the first round in the city of wine he scored 11 points, in the second in our arena he finished with 11, in the third he provided 16 and 8 rebounds and in the fourth 11 and 5 rebounds. In the last final four final Blayzer scored 13 Points (3 of 5 from three) in 25 minutes of play.

Blazer grew up in Kfar Tavor (northern Israel) and grew up in the youth department of Hapoel Gilboa\Maayanot. In 2011 he was added to the senior team of Hapoel Afula. He then moved to Bnei Herzliya and was selected as the season revelation in 2013/14. After another season at the HaYovel Hall he moved to Maccabi Haifa, played three seasons in the green uniform and then moved to Rishon LeZion in the summer of 2018.

Last season Oz was a key part in Guy Goodes’ machine. With the vice champions he averaged 9.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.1 steals and assists in 26.9 minutes per game during the regular season. In the playoffs he provided 11.3 points with 85% for 2pt and 41% for 3pt, along with 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 25.8 minutes per game.

In the last playoff in the league, Blayzer was ranked 10th among the Israelis in the efficiency index, seventh in the 3pt percentage, 11 in rebounds and 11 in the plus-minus index. In the Rishon LeZion uniform in the EuroCup, he took part in ten games, started in five of them and provided 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 21 minutes per game. His highlight game was against Ulm with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 20 Eff.