Meir Tapiro (Hebrew: מאיר טפירו), born March 28, 1975) is a former Israeli professional basketball player, and current CEO of Ironi Nes Ziona. Tapiro played at the point guard position. He was the 2002 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP. He was a five-time Israeli Premier League Assists Leader, in 1998, 2004, 2006, 2010, and 2014.
 | |
| Ironi Nes Ziona | |
|---|---|
| Position | CEO |
| League | Israeli Premier League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | March 28, 1975 Kiryat Ata, Israel |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Listed height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) |
| Listed weight | 87 kg (192 lb) |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 1994–2016 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Coaching career | 2016–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1993–1994 | Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin |
| 1994–1996 | Hapoel Tel Aviv |
| 1996–1998 | Hapoel Eilat |
| 1998–2000 | Maccabi Haifa |
| 2000–2003 | Hapoel Jerusalem |
| 2003–2004 | Bnei Hasharon |
| 2004–2005 | SLUC Nancy |
| 2005–2007 | Hapoel Jerusalem |
| 2007–2009 | Bnei Hasharon |
| 2009–2010 | Maccabi Rishon LeZion |
| 2010–2012 | Maccabi Ashdod |
| 2012–2013 | Hapoel Jerusalem |
| 2013–2015 | Ironi Nes Ziona |
| 2015–2016 | Maccabi Kiryat Gat |
| As coach: | |
| 2016–2017 | Maccabi Ashdod |
| 2017 | Hapoel Eilat |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
He is of a Tunisian-Jewish descent.
Early years
Tapiro started playing basketball with the youth department of Elitzur Kiryat Ata.
Professional career
Tapiro started his professional career at Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin. During his pro club career, Tapiro also played with Hapoel Tel Aviv, Hapoel Eilat, Hapoel Jerusalem, Bnei HaSharon, Nancy, Maccabi Rishon LeZion, and Maccabi Ashdod.[1] He was the 2002 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP. He was a five-time Israeli Premier League Assists Leader, in 1998, 2004, 2006, 2010, and 2014.
Triple doubles
Tapiro was the first Israeli player to achieve a Triple-double in the Israeli Super League. It happened during a game on February 1, 1999, when he finished the game with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, while playing with Maccabi Haifa. Tapiro was also the first Israeli player to achieve a triple-double in a European-wide game, as he led Hapoel Jerusalem to a 118–95 win over BC Odesa, in a EuroCup Challenge game in 2003. In total, Tapiro had 6 triple doubles throughout his career.
Israeli national team
Tapiro also played with the senior Israeli National Team in every EuroBasket, from 1999 to 2007. He played at the EuroBasket 1999, the EuroBasket 2001, the EuroBasket 2003, the EuroBasket 2005, and the EuroBasket 2007.His best performance in a EuroBasket event was at EuroBasket 2001, where he averaged 13.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.
On May 27, 2009, at the age of 34, Tapiro announced his immediate retirement from the Israeli national team, even though he was due to participate in the upcoming EuroBasket 2009. He cited his reasons for retirement from the national team as, his need to get rest, and to prepare himself physically and mentally for the next upcoming season.
Honours
- Israeli State Cup
- Winner: 2006–07
Regular season Statistics
The blocks have counted since 2001-02 season The minutes have counted since 1997-98 season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994–95 | H.T.A | 16 | ? | ? | .56 | .33 | .64 | 1.7 | 1.9 | .0 | 0 | 6.3 |
| 1995–96 | H.T.A | 20 | ? | ? | .52 | .38 | .81 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 |
| 1996–97 | Eilat | 20 | ? | ? | .51 | .36 | .85 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 0 | 0 | 9.3 |
| 1997–98 | Eilat | 21 | ? | ? | .50 | .28 | .75 | 2.6 | .7 | 0 | 0 | 11.8 |
| 1998–99 | Haifa | 22 | ? | 34.7 | .48 | .34 | .73 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 14.3 |
| 1999–2000 | Haifa | 20 | ? | 35.6 | .51 | .34 | .85 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 1.3 | 0 | 15 |
| 2000–01 | Jerusalem | 28 | ? | ? | .48 | .42 | .70 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 0 | 8.1 |
| 2001–02 | Jerusalem | 26 | 24 | 27.7 | .48 | .34 | .76 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 0 | 11.9 |
| 2002–03 | Jerusalem | 27 | 23 | 34.8 | .56 | .42 | .86 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 1.7 | 0 | 17.2 |
| 2003–04 | Bnei HaSharon | 21 | 21 | 35.1 | .46 | .38 | .73 | 4.2 | 7.3 | 1.9 | 0 | 13.5 |
| 2004–05 | Nancy | 33 | 18 | 24.06 | .56 | .236 | .679 | 3.51 | 5.5 | 1 | 0.15 | 9.3 |
| 2005–06 | Jerusalem | 30 | 6 | 27.1 | .48 | .42 | .81 | 3.9 | 5.4 | 1.5 | 0 | 10.6 |
| 2006–07 | Jerusalem | 27 | 26 | 27.2 | .44 | .38 | .82 | 3.1 | 4 | 1.3 | 0 | 10.9 |
| 2007–08 | Bnei HaSharon | 24 | 22 | 34 | .49 | .36 | .82 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 1.4 | 0 | 13.6 |
| 2008–09 | Bnei HaSharon | 22 | 21 | 31.9 | .48 | .35 | .71 | 4.8 | 5.6 | 1.1 | 0 | 12.4 |
| 2009–10 | Rishon | 22 | 9 | 28.7 | .42 | .34 | .83 | 4.6 | 6.5 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 9.6 |
| 2010–11 | Ashdod | 27 | 27 | 32.6 | .45 | .33 | .85 | 5.1 | 6.1 | 2.2 | 0.1 | 11.6 |
| 2011–12 | Ashdod | 24 | 24 | 30.8 | .45 | .22 | .87 | 4.6 | 7.4 | 1.5 | 0 | 9 |
| 2012–13 | Jerusalem | 26 | 4 | 20.2 | .45 | .27 | .85 | 2.6 | 3.5 | .8 | 0 | 6.2 |
| 2013–14 | Nes Ziona | 29 | 29 | 33.1 | .43 | .32 | .91 | 4.3 | 6.6 | 1.5 | 0 | 9.7 |
| 2014–15 | Nes Ziona | 26 | 19 | 25 | .50 | .37 | .75 | 3.5 | 5.2 | 1.3 | .2 | 8 |
| 2015–16 | Kiryat Gat | 32 | 8 | 21 | .48 | .28 | .86 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 6.5 |