Maccabi Tel Aviv has signed forward-center T.J. Leaf to a three-year deal, the club officially announced.
Leaf, 28, was born in Tel Aviv and returns to Israel after stints in the NBA and the Chinese Basketball Association. He averaged 22.1 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists last season with Nanjing.
The 2.08-meter big man, who plays primarily at power forward but can also cover center, adds size, scoring, and versatility to Maccabi’s rotation.
A former NBA first-round pick, Leaf played 146 games with the Indiana Pacers and Portland Trail Blazers. His most productive years came overseas, where he became one of the top frontcourt players in China.
Born in 1997, Leaf moved to California at age two after his father’s playing career in Israel. He played one standout season at UCLA, averaging 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting 46.6% from beyond the arc.
Leaf was selected 18th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by Indiana. He joined Portland in 2021 before shifting to the CBA, where he posted dominant numbers with Guangzhou, Beijing, and Nanjing.
He previously represented Israel’s U-18 team and was recently included in the senior national squad’s broader pool for upcoming international competition.
His arrival comes after a difficult EuroLeague season for Maccabi, which finished 16th out of 18 teams with an 11–23 record.
