Paul Delaney (basketball)

Paul Delaney

Delaney with Hapoel Holon in October 2016
No. 5–Elitzur Ashkelon
Position	Point guard / Shooting guard
League	Israeli National League
Personal information
Born	(1986-08-30) August 30, 1986 (age 34) Decatur, Georgia
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	198 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High school	Chamblee Charter (Chamblee, Georgia)
College	UAB (2004–2009)
NBA draft	2009 / Undrafted
Playing career	2009–present
Career history
2009	Hapoel Holon
2009–2010	Ironi Nahariya
2010–2012	Habikaa
2012–2013	Spartak Primorye
2013–2014	Khimik
2014–2015	Cholet
2015–2016	Maccabi Kiryat Gat
2016–2017	Hapoel Holon
2018	Maccabi Rishon LeZion
2018–2019	Maccabi Hod HaSharon
2019	Poitiers Basket 86
2019–present	Elitzur Eito Ashkelon
Career highlights and awards
Israeli National League champion (2011) Israeli Premier League All-Star (2012) First-team All-C-USA (2007) Second-team All-C-USA (2009) 2× C-USA All-Defensive Team (2007, 2009)

Paul Lewis Delaney III (born August 30, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for Elitzur Eito Ashkelon of the Israeli National League. He played college basketball for the University of Alabama at Birmingham before playing professionally in Israel, Russia, Ukraine and France.

Early life and college career

Delaney attended Chamblee Charter High School in Chamblee, Georgia, where he averaged 21.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists per contest as a senior. Delaney was rated as the 43rd best player in the Southeast according to Hoop Scoop magazine, earning Nike All-American honors in 2003. ^[1]

Delaney played college basketball for the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers, where he averaged 16 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game as a senior. ^[1]

Professional career

Israel (2009–2012)

In 2009, Delaney started his professional career with the Israeli team Hapoel Holon, signing a one-year deal. ^[2] However, on October 23, 2009, Delaney parted ways with Holon and joined Ironi Nahariya for the rest of the season. ^[3]

On December 5, 2010, Delaney signed with Habikaa of the Israeli National League. ^[4] That season, Delaney led Habikaa to the Israeli Premier League after winning the National League Championship in 2011. ^[5] One year later, he participated in the 2012 Israeli League All-Star Game.

Russia (2012–2013)

On August 10, 2012, Delaney signed with the Russian team Spartak Primorye for the 2012–13 season. ^[6]

Ukraine (2013–2014)

On June 25, 2013, Delaney signed a two-year deal with the Ukrainian team Khimik. ^[7] Delaney led Khimik to the 2014 Ukrainian League Finals, where they eventually lost to Budivelnyk. In 51 games played during the 2013–14 season, he averaged 11.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

France (2014–2015)

On July 9, 2014, Delaney signed with the French team Cholet for the 2014–15 season. ^[8]

Return to Israel (2015–2019)

On July 26, 2015, Delaney returned to Israel to join Maccabi Kiryat Gat for the 2015–16 season. ^[9] On March 2, 2016, Delaney was named Israeli League Player of the Month after averaging 22 points, 6 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 steals for 34 PIR in games played in February. ^[10] Delaney finished second in efficiency rating (23.7 per game), fifth in scoring (18 per game) and second in steals (2.5 per game) in the entire Israeli League in 2016.

On July 30, 2016, Delaney returned for a second stint with Hapoel Holon, signing a one-year contract. ^[11] On December 20, 2016, Delaney suffered an ACL injury in a match against Hapoel Eilat and was later ruled out for the rest of the season. ^[12]

On February 26, 2018, Delaney signed with Maccabi Rishon LeZion for a one-month temporary contract with an option to extend it for the rest of the season. ^[13] On March 27, 2018, Delaney parted ways with Rishon LeZion after appearing in 3 games. ^[14]

On December 13, 2018, Delaney signed with Maccabi Hod HaSharon of the Israeli National League for the rest of the season. ^[15] In 23 games played for Hod Hasharon, he averaged 19.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

Return to France (2019)

On May 6, 2019, Delaney signed with Poitiers Basket 86 of the French LNB Pro B as an injury cover for J. R. Reynolds. ^[16]

Third stint in Israel (2019–present)

On July 22, 2019, Delaney signed with Elitzur Eito Ashkelon for the 2019–20 season. ^[17] On January 7, 2020, Delaney recorded a career-high 48 points, while shooting 12-of-21 from the field, along with eight rebounds and seven assists in a 132–126 quadruple overtime win over Hapoel Hevel Modi'in. He was subsequently named Israeli National League Round 12 MVP. ^[18]

Personal life

Delaney began converting to Judaism while playing for Ironi Nahariya in 2010. ^[19] In November 2016, Delaney married his Israeli girlfriend, Lital Sharabi. ^[20]

References

1. "Paul Delaney - Men's Basketball - University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics". UABSports.com. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
2. "Holon signed Paul Delaney". Sportando.basketball. August 23, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
3. "Ironi Nahariya inks Shawn Taggart and Paul Delaney". Sportando.basketball. October 23, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
4. "ללא דיחוי: פול דילייני הצטרף למ.כ. הבקעה". ONE.co.il (in Hebrew). December 5, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
5. "הבקעה עלתה לליגת העל אחרי 83:96 על הפועל". ONE.co.il (in Hebrew). May 16, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
6. "Spartak Primorye tabs Paul Delaney". Sportando.basketball. August 10, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
7. "Khimik signs Paul Delaney to a 1+1 deal". Sportando.basketball. June 25, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
8. "Cholet lands Paul Delaney". Sportando.basketball. July 9, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
9. "התגעגע: פול דילייני חתם לעונה במכבי קריית גת". ONE.co.il (in Hebrew). July 26, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
10. "נבחרי פברואר: דילייני, נתי כהן וזליקוביץ". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). March 2, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
11. "Hapoel Holon signs Paul Delaney". Sportando.basketball. July 30, 2016.
12. "מכה להפועל חולון: פול דילייני גמר את העונה". ONE.co.il (in Hebrew). December 20, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
13. "פול דילייני חתם על חוזה מבחן בראשל"צ". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). February 26, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
14. "Maccabi Rishon LeZion, Paul Delaney part ways". Sportando.basketball. March 27, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
15. "חוזר לפרקט: פול דילייני חתם בהוד השרון". Sport5.co.il (in Hebrew). December 13, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
16. "Paul Delaney signs with Poitiers". Sportando.basketball. May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
17. "מתחזקת: אליצור אשקלון צירפה את פול דילייני". ONE.co.il (in Hebrew). July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
18. "Delaney's 48-point game gives him National League Player of the Week award". Eurobasket.com. January 9, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
19. "נפש יהודי: פול דילייני מצא בית בישראל". NRG.co.il (in Hebrew). September 9, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
20. ""האדם מגדיר את העבודה שלו. בשבילי אני המנצח"". Sport5.co.il (in Hebrew). June 6, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

External links

• UAB bio
• RealGM profile