Berkowitz has been living in a care facility away from his home in recent months, and the film documents his family’s efforts to cope with his condition.
Mickey Berkowitz, widely regarded as Israel’s greatest basketball player and one of the country’s greatest athletes, is suffering from severe dementia, it was officially revealed Monday evening during the Channel 12 documentary Mickey Berkowitz’s Last Shot. His condition is considered complex.
In the documentary by Niv Raskin, the Berkowitz family agreed to reveal the secret they had kept for more than two years, shortly before Berkowitz received the Israel Prize for Outstanding Sports Achievement, regarding the illness affecting one of Israel’s biggest sporting icons.
Berkowitz has been living in a care facility away from his home in recent months, and the film documents his family’s efforts to cope with his condition.
Berkowitz's basketball careerBerkowitz, whose parents immigrated from Romania, joined Maccabi Tel Aviv’s youth team at the age of 11, where he was discovered by legendary coach Yehoshua Rozin, who has since died. At 17, he joined Maccabi Tel Aviv’s senior team, and a year later led Israel’s youth national team to fourth place at the European Championship.
At age 21, Berkowitz spent a year at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, before returning to Maccabi Tel Aviv. In 1977, at the age of 23, he led Maccabi Tel Aviv to its first European Cup championship, helping secure a historic 78,77 victory over Mobilgirgi Varese in the final.
A combination of his accomplishment on the court and class off it have made Mickey Berkowitz Israel’s ultimate sporting legend (credit: ADI AVISHAI)Two years later, Berkowitz led the Israeli national team to a silver medal at the 1979 European Championship, where he was named tournament MVP. After the tournament, he received an offer from the New Jersey Nets, but Maccabi Tel Aviv refused to release him.
In 1981, Berkowitz won another European Cup title with Maccabi Tel Aviv, scoring the game-winning basket in the team’s 80,79 victory over Sinudyne Bologna in the final. He also reached four additional European finals with Maccabi, though the team fell short in each of them.
Berkowitz represented Israel at the 1986 World Championship after his decisive basket against Czechoslovakia in the qualifying tournament secured the team’s place in the competition.
During 16 seasons with Maccabi Tel Aviv’s senior team, Berkowitz won two European Cups, 16 Israeli league championships and 13 State Cups.
In the summer of 1988, after making his final European Cup final appearance with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Berkowitz moved to Maccabi Rishon Lezion, where he played for five seasons. Alongside his close friend Motti Aroesti, who spent 13 seasons with him on Maccabi Tel Aviv’s senior team, Berkowitz helped lead the club to the playoff finals against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
He later played one season for Hapoel Jerusalem and half a season for Hapoel Tel Aviv before retiring. At the time of his retirement, he ranked second on the all-time Israeli Premier Basketball League scoring list, behind Doron Jamchi.
Leave a Comment