Meir Tapiro (Hebrew: מאיר טפירו), born March 28, 1975) is a former Israeli professional basketball player, and current CEO of Ironi Nes Ziona. Tapiro played at the point guard position. He was the 2002 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP. He was a five-time Israeli Premier League Assists Leader, in 1998, 2004, 2006, 2010, and 2014.

Meir Tapiro
מאיר טפירו
Ironi Nes Ziona
PositionCEO
LeagueIsraeli Premier League
Personal information
Born (1975-03-28) March 28, 1975 (age 49)
Kiryat Ata, Israel
NationalityIsraeli
Listed height1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Listed weight87 kg (192 lb)
Career information
Playing career1994–2016
PositionPoint guard
Coaching career2016–present
Career history
As player:
1993–1994Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin
1994–1996Hapoel Tel Aviv
1996–1998Hapoel Eilat
1998–2000Maccabi Haifa
2000–2003Hapoel Jerusalem
2003–2004Bnei Hasharon
2004–2005SLUC Nancy
2005–2007Hapoel Jerusalem
2007–2009Bnei Hasharon
2009–2010Maccabi Rishon LeZion
2010–2012Maccabi Ashdod
2012–2013Hapoel Jerusalem
2013–2015Ironi Nes Ziona
2015–2016Maccabi Kiryat Gat
As coach:
2016–2017Maccabi Ashdod
2017Hapoel Eilat
Career highlights and awards

He is of a Tunisian-Jewish descent.

Early years

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Tapiro started playing basketball with the youth department of Elitzur Kiryat Ata.

Professional career

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Tapiro started his professional career at Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin. During his pro club career, Tapiro also played with Hapoel Tel Aviv, Hapoel Eilat, Hapoel Jerusalem, Bnei HaSharon, Nancy, Maccabi Rishon LeZion, and Maccabi Ashdod.[1] He was the 2002 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP. He was a five-time Israeli Premier League Assists Leader, in 1998, 2004, 2006, 2010, and 2014.

Triple doubles

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Tapiro was the first Israeli player to achieve a Triple-double in the Israeli Super League. It happened during a game on February 1, 1999, when he finished the game with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, while playing with Maccabi Haifa. Tapiro was also the first Israeli player to achieve a triple-double in a European-wide game, as he led Hapoel Jerusalem to a 118–95 win over BC Odesa, in a EuroCup Challenge game in 2003. In total, Tapiro had 6 triple doubles throughout his career.

Israeli national team

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Tapiro also played with the senior Israeli National Team in every EuroBasket, from 1999 to 2007. He played at the EuroBasket 1999, the EuroBasket 2001, the EuroBasket 2003, the EuroBasket 2005, and the EuroBasket 2007. His best performance in a EuroBasket event was at EuroBasket 2001, where he averaged 13.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.

On May 27, 2009, at the age of 34, Tapiro announced his immediate retirement from the Israeli national team, even though he was due to participate in the upcoming EuroBasket 2009. He cited his reasons for retirement from the national team as, his need to get rest, and to prepare himself physically and mentally for the next upcoming season.

Honours

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Regular season Statistics

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The blocks have counted since 2001-02 season The minutes have counted since 1997-98 season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1994–95 H.T.A 16 ? ? .56 .33 .64 1.7 1.9 .0 0 6.3
1995–96 H.T.A 20 ? ? .52 .38 .81 2.2 2.8 0 0 14.0
1996–97 Eilat 20 ? ? .51 .36 .85 2.2 1.6 0 0 9.3
1997–98 Eilat 21 ? ? .50 .28 .75 2.6 .7 0 0 11.8
1998–99 Haifa 22 ? 34.7 .48 .34 .73 5.5 5.4 0 0 14.3
1999–2000 Haifa 20 ? 35.6 .51 .34 .85 5.2 5.3 1.3 0 15
2000–01 Jerusalem 28 ? ? .48 .42 .70 2.6 2.5 1.1 0 8.1
2001–02 Jerusalem 26 24 27.7 .48 .34 .76 3.2 2.8 1.7 0 11.9
2002–03 Jerusalem 27 23 34.8 .56 .42 .86 4.7 4.4 1.7 0 17.2
2003–04 Bnei HaSharon 21 21 35.1 .46 .38 .73 4.2 7.3 1.9 0 13.5
2004–05 Nancy 33 18 24.06 .56 .236 .679 3.51 5.5 1 0.15 9.3
2005–06 Jerusalem 30 6 27.1 .48 .42 .81 3.9 5.4 1.5 0 10.6
2006–07 Jerusalem 27 26 27.2 .44 .38 .82 3.1 4 1.3 0 10.9
2007–08 Bnei HaSharon 24 22 34 .49 .36 .82 5.3 5.5 1.4 0 13.6
2008–09 Bnei HaSharon 22 21 31.9 .48 .35 .71 4.8 5.6 1.1 0 12.4
2009–10 Rishon 22 9 28.7 .42 .34 .83 4.6 6.5 1.2 0.1 9.6
2010–11 Ashdod 27 27 32.6 .45 .33 .85 5.1 6.1 2.2 0.1 11.6
2011–12 Ashdod 24 24 30.8 .45 .22 .87 4.6 7.4 1.5 0 9
2012–13 Jerusalem 26 4 20.2 .45 .27 .85 2.6 3.5 .8 0 6.2
2013–14 Nes Ziona 29 29 33.1 .43 .32 .91 4.3 6.6 1.5 0 9.7
2014–15 Nes Ziona 26 19 25 .50 .37 .75 3.5 5.2 1.3 .2 8
2015–16 Kiryat Gat 32 8 21 .48 .28 .86 3.6 4.0 1.0 0 6.5

References

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  1. ^ "ISRAEL BASKETBALL SUPER LEAGUE | Israel Basketball | 1994-95 Season | Hapoel Tel Aviv | Meir Tapiro". basket.co.il.
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