Leavenworth resident Grant Greenberg joined in winning the gold medal as part of the U.S. men’s basketball team at the 15th European Maccabi Games in Budapest, Hungary, about a month ago.
Team USA beat Russia’s team for the gold medal in the Men’s Open Basketball category. Greenberg scored 8 points in that game and averaged about 15 points a game for the whole tournament, he told The Chronicle. The games were held July 29 through Aug. 7.
He has now represented the U.S. men’s team twice in the Maccabi Games, commonly known as the Jewish Olympics. The first time was in the summer of 2017 in Israel, and that team also won the gold medal.
He is looking into an opportunity to play next season for an undetermined professional team in Israel. He hopes to find out for sure within a couple of weeks. If he is chosen to play, then he will probably leave sometime in September.
“I would finish out the season and go from there,” he said. “I’d see what happens after that.”
He hasn’t played basketball professionally in Israel. He visited there for the first time two years ago, and enjoyed the experience, he said. He was approved for Israeli citizenship and is waiting for the final paperwork. If approved, he would have dual citizenship as an Israeli American citizen.
He looks forward to playing basketball in Israel mostly for the chance to play in a new country, and especially in Israel.
“Not a lot of people can say they were able to play in Israel professionally,” he said. “I’ll get to live there and experience everything while I can.”
While at Budapest Maccabi Games in Budapest, he had the opportunity to take part in some Jewish activities, though fewer than he had in 2017. He and the team attended synagogue on Friday night, Aug. 2.
“The synagogue there I think is one of the biggest ones in the world,” he said. “It’s definitely something I’ll always remember. The whole delegation from the U.S. was there. It was a big crowd.”
Greenberg played for the fledgling minor league basketball team the Kansas City Tornados of the North American Premier Basketball League in 2017 and 2018. He enjoyed the experience overall and “had some great teammates I’ll always keep in touch with.”
“It just kind of worked out to stay in Kansas City, and I’m happy it worked out,” he told The Chronicle in 2018. “It’s close to home. I get to play in front of my family and friends. All the players are nice, friendly like the coach. We’re just trying to achieve the goal of winning a championship.”
Greenberg is 25. He was born in North Carolina. His father was in the military, and his family moved around a lot while he was a child. He has lived in Leavenworth most of his life. He does not belong to a congregation.
He has the distinction of holding the record for the most points scored in collegiate men’s basketball in the state of Kansas — 3,330 for the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth.
In this year’s Maccabi Games, team USA took home 155 medals — the most of all teams that participated, according to a JNS story. American athletes claimed 75 gold, 43 silver and 37 bronze medals. More than 2,000 Jewish athletes from 42 countries competed in the games.
“With world-class competition across multiple sports and lasting bonds formed among Jewish athletes from around the world, the European Maccabi Games were a wonderful example of the power of the Maccabi movement,” Maccabi USA CEO Marshall Einhorn told JNS. “Maccabi USA’s success on the field was certainly gratifying to everyone in our delegation,” he said, “and a testament to the talent and hard work of our players and coaches.
However, win or lose, the deep connections formed by our athletes with other Jews, both from the U.S. and around the world, represent the most important takeaway from these Games.”