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Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C.

Basketball team in Be'er Sheva, Israel From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C. (Hebrew: הפועל באר שבע) is a professional basketball club based in Be'er Sheva, Israel. The team plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top tier of Israeli basketball and in the Balkan International Basketball League. It plays its home games in the Conch Arena.

Founded1965; 61 years ago (1965)
ArenaConch Arena (Sea shell)
Capacity3,000
Quick facts Leagues, Founded ...
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
LeaguesIsraeli Basketball Premier League
Founded1965; 61 years ago (1965)
ArenaConch Arena (Sea shell)
Capacity3,000
LocationBe'er Sheva, Israel
Team colorsRed, White
   
CEOTomer Yaron
PresidentKfir Arazi
Head coachDoug Spradley
Team captainNeta Segal
Championships0
Websitehb7.co.il
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For the 2026–27 season, Hapoel Be'er Sheva appointed veteran American-German Doug Spradley as the team's new head coach. Spradley arrived in Be'er Sheva following an extensive coaching career in European basketball, including a successful four-year spell with ZZ Leiden in the Netherlands.[1]

As part of the roster rebuild ahead of the new campaign, the club added Israeli players Golan Gutt, Noam Avivi and Ido Flaisher. Gutt, an experienced Israeli shooting guard, joined Be'er Sheva after playing for several clubs in Israel. His signing added another experienced Israeli player to the team's backcourt and wing rotation. Avivi, a 2.05-meter Israeli forward, joined the club as another addition to its frontcourt. Flaisher, a 2.08-meter Israeli center, returned to Be'er Sheva for a second stint, after previously playing for the team during the 2024–25 season. He spent the following season with Ironi Ashkelon before returning to Be'er Sheva.[2]

History

20th century

The club was founded in 1965 by Eitan Wegmann. During the eighties, the team won the Second League twice. During the nineties, the team disbanded.[citation needed]

2000s

In 2002 the basketball club Hapoel Be'er Sheva rebranded, and started the season in the Fifth League. Within three years it qualified for the Second League.[citation needed]

During the 2006/07 season, the team stood one game away from ascending to the Israeli Basketball Premier League, but lost the final game of a 5-game series in the Liga Leumit (Second League) finals to Hapoel Holon. This series has been recalled as one of the hardest-fought series in the history of the Second League. A season later Be'er Sheva was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Second League playoffs.[citation needed]

In order to continue to maintain the club's youth department, called "Future of the Negev",[3] then-chairman Mario Levy and his son Rami (then director) once again rebranded the team in the summer of 2008, and assumed management of the club's youth department starting from the 2008/2009 season. The new team began to play in the Fifth League, and at the end of the season the team progressed to the Fourth League. A season later, the team fought relegation, and in the last cycle of the league remained in the league.

2010s

At the beginning of the 2011/2012 season, the men's team was united with Beitar Be'er Sheva under the title of Municipal Be'er Sheva. The united team competed in Liga Artzit (the Third League). The leadership of the club was assumed by local businessman owner and chairman Kfir Arazi,[4] who joined during the summer. The team was re-branded under his ownership, and competed again in the local Fourth League.

In the summer of 2013 Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Beitar/Municipal Be'er Sheva understood merged under the name Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Hapoel Be'er Sheva finished the 2013/2014 season in first place in the Fourth League, and at the end of the season returned to the Artzit (3rd) League.

Chris Watson

In the summer of 2014 the club signed sponsorship deals with two major entities, the Bnei Shimon Regional Council and the Altshuler Shaham investment house, thus assuring the financial longevity of the club. Kfir Arazi owned and steered the club. American–Israeli Chris Watson played for the team in 2014–16. On 29 March 2015 Be'er Sheva ensured its rise to the Liga Leumit with a home victory over Hapoel Lod, 56:82.

The 2015–2016 season began well with Beer Sheva consistently at the top of the league, aiming squarely at the Premier League. However, after a series of critical injuries and some locker-room trouble the team lost its bid in the first round of the playoffs, and remained in the Liga Leumit (2nd League).

The 2016–2017 season began with a new coaching team, Yaniv Burger and Zach Schneider, and an almost new team which included Jeff Allen, Jason Williams, David Shamriz, and Ben Eisenhardt.

On 22 May 2018, Hapoel Be'er Sheva won the National League title and earned promotion to the Israeli Basketball Premier League for the first time in their history, as they swept Maccabi Kiryat Gat 3–0 in the best-of-five series. Storm Warren was named Finals MVP.[5][6]

2020s

In the 2022–23 BIBL season, Hapoel Be'er Sheva won the Balkan International Basketball League (BIBL) with a 13-1 record in the regular season, and by defeating KB Peja in the final, 99–95.

Arena

Conch Arena, home stadium of Hapoel Be'er Sheva.

Conch Arena is a multi-purpose sports arena located in Be'er Sheva, and has 3,000 seats.

On 25 February 2014 the arena was inaugurated, by Rubik Danilovich, the mayor of Be'er Sheva, Shmuel Frenkel, chairman of BSL, and Itzik Larry, Chairman of Wiener, before the Premier League All-Star Game.

Season by season

More information Season, Tier ...
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Current roster

More information Players, Coaches ...
Hapoel Be'er Sheva roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
F 5 Israel Shitrit, Ofri 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 21 – (2005-07-03)3 July 2005
SG 7 Israel Gutt, Golan 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 31 – (1994-11-07)7 November 1994
F/C 8 Poland Israel Flaisher, Ido 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 28 – (1998-01-27)27 January 1998
PF 10 Israel Avivi, Noam 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 27 – (1999-02-25)25 February 1999
G 11 Israel Doron, Shachar 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 21 – (2005-05-22)22 May 2005
F 12 United States Smith, Tyreek 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 26 – (2000-01-21)21 January 2000
C 24 United States Israel Wiznitzer, Gabe 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 24 – (2001-10-09)9 October 2001
SF 30 United States Dominican Republic Figueroa, L. J. 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 91 kg (201 lb) 28 – (1998-03-28)28 March 1998
PG 36 Israel Kozahinof, Danel 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) 25 – (2001-06-04)4 June 2001
SG 50 United States Adelman, Max 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 91 kg (201 lb) 25 – (2001-01-01)1 January 2001
SF 55 Israel Fogel, Matan 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 18 – (2007-10-03)3 October 2007
G United States Bailey, Amari 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 22 – (2004-02-17)17 February 2004
G United States Cabbil, Lovell 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 77 kg (170 lb) 29 – (1997-01-13)13 January 1997
F United States Coleman, Christian 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 26 – (2000-08-28)28 August 2000
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Israel Yaniv Ravins
  • Israel Almog Reshef

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured

Updated: 30 August 2026
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Depth chart

More information Pos., Starting 5 ...
Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Ido Flaisher Gabe Wiznitzer
PF Tyreek Smith Noam Avivi Ofri Shitrit
SF L. J. Figueroa Christian Coleman Matan Fogel
SG Golan Gutt Max Adelman Shachar Doron
PG Lovell Cabbil Amari Bailey Danel Kozahinof
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  • The Israeli league rule requires every team to have at least one Israeli on the court at any time.
  • There should be at least 7 Israelis and up to 5 foreigners on a 12-men game sheet.

Source: basket.co.il

Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

More information Criteria ...
Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.
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References

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