Former NBA player and coach Paul Westphal — decked out in a souvenir Masada hat — talked to Tablet’s Unorthodox podcast about his visits to Israel and his ties to the Jewish community. Westphal won the 1974 NBA championship with the Boston Celtics, and led the Phoenix Suns to the finals in 1993 as a coach.
Long relationship with Jewish community: Westphal said he grew up playing basketball every day for five years at the Phoenix Jewish Community Center. He’s visited Israel three times, and during his tenure as coach of the Sacramento Kings, the team drafted Omri Casspi, who became the NBA’s first Israeli player.
