Ryan Turell’s dream of being the first Orthodox Jewish player in the NBA was put on hold this summer when he wasn’t selected in the NBA draft.
But there are new opportunities for him on the horizon this fall, according to NBA correspondent Marc Stein.
“Ex-Yeshiva University guard Ryan Turell ... has officially signed an (NBA G League) contract (and) will be available in the upcoming G League draft, league sources say,” he tweeted Monday.
As Stein noted, Turell attended college at Yeshiva University, an Orthodox Jewish school in New York City. He was a star on the basketball team, which won “50 consecutive games spanning from November 2019 to December 2021,” according to ESPN.
“Turell is the leading scorer in college basketball across all divisions, averaging 27.1 points while shooting 47% from 3,” the article said.
In interviews ahead of the NBA draft, Turell talked about how much it would mean to him — and to the Jewish community — to get a shot at an NBA career.
“Being the first Orthodox Jew in the NBA would mean the world to me, and a dream come true, God willing. But, just as importantly, it would mean the world to others that never saw this as a possibility,” he said to ESPN.
Turell plans to wear a yarmulke during games at the professional level, just as he did in college. But, unlike previous Jewish players with NBA dreams, he does not plan to sit out games on the Sabbath, which stretches from Friday evening to Saturday evening.
After going undrafted in June, Turell weighed moving to Israel to play basketball there, as New York Jewish Week reported at the time. But he’s now focused on finding a spot in the G League, according to Stein.
The NBA G League draft begins Oct. 22.