Who Is Maccabi Ra’anana? A Background On The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Preseason Opponent
Starting the second week of NBA training camp, the Cleveland Cavaliers are set for their third game of the preseason on Monday night. They will play host to Maccabi Ra’anana, an overseas professional club that plays in the Israeli National League.
Beginning last year, Ra’anana started visiting the United States to take on NBA competition as a ramp-up to its own season in Israel. In 2022, the team played the Los Angeles Clippers, the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder. Most recently, Ra’anana is coming off a 135-103 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 12.
Currently, Ra’anana’s roster features a good handful of former NBA talent. Dwayne Bacon, Quinndary Weatherspoon and Bruno Caboclo were among the starting five in Brooklyn.
Bacon was an everyday starter with the Orlando Magic in the 2020-21 campaign, which was his last season in the league. Weatherspoon had three years of reserve experience with the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors (and their G League teams) between 2019 and 2022. Caboclo was a late-first-round pick by the Toronto Raptors nine years ago and is still only 28 years old.
Oct 12, 2023; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Maccabi Ra'anana forward Bruno Caboclo (50) dunks against Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons (10) and forwards Mikal Bridges (1) and Harry Giles III (14) during the second quarter at Barclays Center.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Former Cavs big man Mamadi Diakite suited up for 15 minutes of action vs. the Nets, while former Clipper and New Orleans Pelicans guard Sindarius Thornwell also plays a role for the squad.
Another fun fact: Longtime pro Jason Siggers has had an illustrious career overseas and is the father of Utah Jazz first-rounder Keyonte George.
As this shows, Ra’anana has plenty of connections back to the NBA and the United States in hoops. After Monday’s bout with the Cavs, Maccabi will travel to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves on the second night of a back-to-back.
