Tal Burstein(born February 19, 1980) is an Israeli professional basketball player.

He can play at the point guard

Point guard

Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...

 position and also as a swingman

Swingman

A Swingman is a basketball term denoting a player who can play both the small forward and shooting guard positions, and, in essence, swing between the shooting guard and small forward positions." Swingmen males are often between 6'5" and 6'8" .John Havlicek, who played for the Boston Celtics in...

. He is 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) in height. He has also been named as one of the best Israeli basketball players ever. He currently plays with the pro club Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Pro career

Tal Burstein began his basketball career with the Bnei-Herzliya junior team. In the 1997–1998 season, he made his professional debut and he was named the Israeli League Rookie of the Year. He became a team captain

Captain (sports)

In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...

 in the 1999–2000 season. In the 2001–02 season, he led the Israeli League in three-point field goal

Three-point field goal

A three-point field goal is a field goal in a basketball game, made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc radiating from the basket...

 percentage, shooting 49.4%.

Since 2000–01, he has played with Maccabi Tel-Aviv. He became a starter in his first season in Tel Aviv. With the club, Burstein has won 8 Israeli National Championships and 6 Israeli State Cups

Israeli Basketball State Cup

The Israeli Basketball State Cup is the second most important basketball competition in Israel, after Ligat HaAl. The tournament began in the 1955-56 season, and is run by the Israel Basketball Association....

. He has also won 3 Euroleague

Euroleague

Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...

 championships with Maccabi, the 2001 Suproleague

Suproleague

FIBA SuproLeague was the FIBA professional club basketball Champions' Cup for the 2000-01 season. Up until that season, there was one cup, the FIBA European Champions' Cup , though in this season of 2000-01, the leading European teams split into two competitions: the FIBA SuproLeague and the ULEB's...

 championship, and the Euroleague championships in the years 2004 and 2005. After the 2008–009 season, Burstein left Maccabi Tel Aviv and signed with the Spanish team Fuenlabrada. A year later, Burstein returned to Maccabi on a three-year contract.

Israeli national basketball team

Burstein has played for all of the Israeli junior national team's and also for the senior men's Israeli national basketball team

Israel national basketball team

The Israeli national basketball team is the basketball team that represents Israel in international competition.The Israeli team has participated 25 times in the European championship tournament. Their best achievements were a silver medal in Eurobasket 1979, and 5th place in 1953 and 1977...

. In August 2000, he was the captain of the under-20 national team, which won a silver medal at the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship

FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship

FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, previously known as European Championship for Men 'Under22 and Under, is a basketball competition inaugurated in 1992. Until 2004 it was held biannually, but from 2004 onwards it is held every year. The current champions are Spain.Since 2005, a second level...

 in Ohrid

Ohrid

Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...

, Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

. In August 2001, Burstein was a member of the Israeli Under-22 national team at the FIBA Under-21 World Championship

FIBA Under-21 World Championship

The FIBA Under-21 World Championship was a men's under-21-only basketball competition organized by FIBA. It was formerly the FIBA 22 & Under World Championship before FIBA lowered the age limit to 21 years in December 1998, and had its name changed to World Championship for Young Men. The...

 in Saitama

Saitama, Saitama

' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...

, Japan, where his team finished in 7th place.

He also played with the senior men's team, the Israeli national basketball team

Israel national basketball team

The Israeli national basketball team is the basketball team that represents Israel in international competition.The Israeli team has participated 25 times in the European championship tournament. Their best achievements were a silver medal in Eurobasket 1979, and 5th place in 1953 and 1977...

 at the 2003 European Championship

Eurobasket 2003

-5th to 8th place:-Awards:-All-Tournament Team : Tony Parker Šarūnas Jasikevičius Saulius Štombergas Andrei Kirilenko Pau Gasol-Top scorers :# Pau Gasol 25.8# Andrei Kirilenko 23.1# Dirk Nowitzki 22.5# Mehmet Okur 18.7...

 in Sweden, where his team finished in 7th place and at the 2005 European Championship

Eurobasket 2005

The EuroBasket 2005 was held in Serbia and Montenegro between 16 September and 25 September 2005. Greece won the gold medal by defeating Germany, while France won the bronze medal over Spain...

. As of 2008, Burstein was a captain on Israel's national team.
He plays as the national team's first shooting guard and he can also play as a point guard if needed.

External links

• Euroleague.net profile
• http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/sports/basketball-rejuvenated-veteran-guard-tal-burstein-takes-over-the-reins-of-the-national-team-1.306634