Lior Eliyahu

Lior Eliyahu was born in 1985 in Ramat Gan

Lior Eliyahu was born on 9 September 1985 in Ramat Gan. His father, Avner Eliyahu, was a building contractor from Petah Tikva. He studied at Blich High School and played in the youth team of Ironi Ramat Gan.

He began his senior career with Hapoel Galil Elyon, where he improved under coach Oded Katash. In 2006 he was chosen by the Orlando Magic with the 44th pick of the NBA draft, and his rights were moved to the Houston Rockets. He did not play in the NBA and joined Maccabi Tel Aviv.

In December 2008 he was the first Israeli named EuroLeague MVP of the Month. In 2009 he moved to Caja Laboral in Spain and won the Spanish championship in 2010. He returned to Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2010 and was named league MVP in 2012.

In 2013 he joined Hapoel Jerusalem, which won its first Israeli championship in 2015, and he was named MVP again. He won another title with the club in 2017 and became its captain in 2018. He played for the Israel national team at 6 EuroBasket tournaments from 2007 to 2017.

In 2019 he signed with Maccabi Ashdod, and in February 2020 he broke his hand in training. He announced his retirement in August 2020. In March 2021 he began training with Hapoel Tel Aviv in a bid to return.