Pro-Basketball Player Tamir Goodman on Hidden Blessings in Adversity, Basketball as a Vehicle and Not Destination, and How it All Came Together in Israel

In this episode of Yalla, Let's Go!, Erica and Abbey sit down with Tamir Goodman — the Jewish Jordan, Division 1 basketball pioneer, author, and entrepreneur — for an honest conversation about faith, resilience, and what it really means to build a life in Israel.

Tamir shares his journey from Baltimore to the courts of Maccabi Tel Aviv: how he became the first Jewish athlete to earn a Division 1 scholarship while keeping Shabbat, what happened when an abusive coach shattered everything he'd worked for, and how he found his way back — first to basketball, then to Israel, and eventually to a new calling as an inventor and coach.

The conversation continues with:

• Growing up with a Holocaust survivor grandmother who shaped his identity

• Keeping Shabbat at the Division 1 level — and the teammates who said "Shabbat Shalom"

• The assault that broke him, and how he rebuilt himself

• Signing with Maccabi Tel Aviv and making aliyah

• Inventing Zone 190 and Aviv Net — and getting into the NBA G League

• Coaching thousands of kids and bringing the spiritual side to the sport

• Why Israel is forever home — even with three kids in the army

This is a conversation about grit, faith, and finding the hidden blessing inside every challenge.

Subscribe for more conversations with people who live, work, build, and stay in Israel.

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KEY TOPICS 

0:00 - Intro

0:50 - Meet Tamir Goodman: The Jewish Jordan

3:16 - From Baltimore to Jerusalem

3:44 - Why He Made Aliyah: A Grandmother, a Dream, and a Breaking Point

4:55 - Broken by a Coach: What Happened After His Freshman Year

5:23 - The Road Back: "God Invests in Everybody"

6:10 - The Maccabi Call and the One-Hour Tryout That Changed Everything

7:47 - Dyslexia as a Hidden Blessing

8:34 - From Injury to Invention: Creating Zone 190

9:46 - Aviv Net: An Anti-Microbial Basketball Net Born in COVID

10:45 - From Startups to Fabric: Powering NBA Events

10:53 - His Wife, His Mission, and the "Different Uniform" Moment

11:30 - Coaching Erica's Son — and Turning Injury Into Opportunity

12:30 - What Makes Him Never Give Up

14:38 - Was Shabbat Ever a Question? Not for a Second

16:29 - Bringing the Spiritual Side to Israeli Basketball

18:23 - His Dream Was Never the NBA — It Was Bigger

19:24 - Three Kids in the Army and Why Israel Is Still Forever Home

20:55 - What He Loves Most: The Authenticity of Life Here

21:09 - Aliyah Advice: Be Resilient

21:35 - Looking Back at 80: It All Started With Meeting His Wife

22:23 - Rapid Fire: Israeli Salad, Yihiyeh B'Seder & Maryland Falls

RESOURCES

Follow Tamir on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamir-goodman-1a231915/

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CREDITS

Hosts: Erica Marom, Abbey Onn 

Executive Producer: Sarah Bard

Producer: Sofi Levak, Dalit Merenfeld, Myron Shneider

Video and Editing: Nadav Elovic, Yotam Kushnir

Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar 

Content and Editorial: Jackie Goldberg

Design: Nimrod Sapir