{{short description|American-Israeli basketball player}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox basketball biography | name = Barry Leibowitz<br>בארי לייבוביץ | image = | caption = | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 2 | weight_lb = 180 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1945|9|10}} | birth_place = [[The Bronx|The Bronx, New York]], U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | nationality = American / Israeli | high_school = [[DeWitt Clinton High School|DeWitt Clinton]]<br>(The Bronx, New York) | college = [[LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball|LIU Brooklyn]] (1964–1967) | draft_year = 1967 | draft_round = 5 | draft_pick =48 | draft_team = [[New York Knicks]] | career_start = 1967 | career_end = 1982 | career_number = 25, 20, 40, 12 | career_position = [[Point guard]] / [[shooting guard]] | coach_start = | coach_end = | years1 = 1967 | team1 = [[Pittsburgh Pipers]] | years2 = 1967–1968 | team2 = [[New Jersey Americans]] | years3 = 1968 | team3 = [[Oakland Oaks (ABA)|Oakland Oaks]] | years4 = 1968–1982 | team4 = [[Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C.|Hapoel Tel Aviv]] | years5 = 1982–1985 | team5 = [[Hapoel Haifa B.C.|Hapoel Haifa]] | cyears1 = 1968–1969 | cteam1 = Hapoel Tel Aviv | highlights = '''As player''': *[[All-American]] (1967) * [[Israeli Basketball Premier League]] Player of the Year (1975) *4x Israeli Basketball Premier League All Star (1973, 1975–77) *LIU Athletics Hall of Fame (2002) '''As head coach''': *[[Israeli Basketball Premier League]] champion (1969) * [[Israeli Basketball State Cup]] winner (1969) | medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry | {{ISR}} }} {{MedalSport | Men's [[Basketball]]}} {{MedalCompetition|[[EuroBasket|European Championships]]}} {{MedalSilver| [[EuroBasket 1979|1979 Italy]] | [[Israel national basketball team|Israel]]}} {{MedalCompetition|[[Maccabiah Games]]}} {{MedalSilver| [[1977 Maccabiah Games|1977 Tel Aviv]]| [[Israel national basketball team|Israel]]}} {{MedalGold| [[1973 Maccabiah Games|1973 Tel Aviv]] |[[Israel national basketball team|Israel]]}} }}
'''Barry Leibowitz''' (בארי לייבוביץ; born September 10, 1945) is an American-Israeli former professional [[basketball]] player who played [[point guard]] and [[shooting guard]].<ref name=ref/> He played college basketball at [[Long Island University]] (LIU).
Chosen by the New York Knicks with the 48th overall pick of the [[1967 NBA Draft]], he instead played in the [[American Basketball Association]] for one season for the [[Pittsburgh Pipers]], [[New Jersey Americans]], and [[Oakland Oaks (ABA)|Oakland Oaks]]. Subsequently, he moved to [[Israel]] and played for [[Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C.|Hapoel Tel Aviv]] and [[Hapoel Haifa B.C.|Hapoel Haifa]] of the [[Israeli Basketball Premier League]] for 17 seasons. In addition, he coached Hapoel Tel Aviv to an Israeli Basketball Premier League championship, and to an [[Israeli Basketball State Cup]], both in the same season. He also played for the [[Israel national basketball team|Israeli national team]], of which he was captain, winning a [[silver medal]] at [[EuroBasket 1979]] in Italy, a [[gold medal]] in the [[1973 Maccabiah Games]], and a silver medal in the [[1977 Maccabiah Games]]. He was inducted into the LIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.
==Early life== Leibowitz was born and raised in [[the Bronx]] in New York City, New York, and is Jewish.<ref name=ref>[https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/leiboba01.html "Barry Leibowitz,"] Basketball Reference.</ref><ref>Martin Harry Greenberg (1979). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Jewish_Lists/1K4UAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22barry+leibowitz%22+%22basketball%22&dq=%22barry+leibowitz%22+%22basketball%22&printsec=frontcover ''The Jewish Lists; Physicists and Generals, Actors and Writers, and Hundreds of Other Lists of Accomplished Jews,''] Schocken Books.</ref><ref>[https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10160607245938962&set=a.465567143961&locale=cx_PH "The Bronx Basketball Hall of Fame"]</ref> He graduated from [[DeWitt Clinton High School]] ('63) in the Bronx.<ref>[https://basketball.realgm.com/highschool/teams/964/DeWitt-Clinton-High-School-NY "DeWitt Clinton High School, Bronx (NY) Players,"] RealGM.</ref><ref name=ins>[https://www.jewsinsports.org/profile_sport_basketball_ID_373.html "Leibowitz, Barry,"] ''Jews in Sports''.</ref> There, he was a standout basketball player alongside future Hall of Famer [[Nate Archibald|Nate "Tiny" Archibald]], and their team won the New York City [[PSAL]] championship in 1962–63.<ref>[https://www.nydailynews.com/2009/01/06/blackbirds-fly-back-to-liu-for-alumni-basketball-game/ "Blackbirds fly back to LIU for alumni basketball game ,"] ''The New York Daily News'', January 11, 2019.</ref><ref name=perf>Charley Rosen (2014). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Perfectly_Awful/Z6k5BAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Barry+Liebowitz%22+%22basketball%22&pg=PT5&printsec=frontcover ''Perfectly Awful; The Philadelphia 76ers' Horrendous and Hilarious 1972–1973 Season,''] University of Nebraska Press.</ref><ref>[https://wilburcoach0.tripod.com/hoftinyarchibald.html "PSAL Hall of Fame Basketball Inductee, Nate "Tiny" Archibald, DeWitt Clinton, 1962–1966,"] hofinny.</ref> He was the first white basketball player to play in the [[Rucker Tournament]] in [[Harlem]] in Manhattan.<ref name=perf/>
==College and Pan Am Maccabiah Games career== As a 6' 2" [[guard (basketball)|guard]] on scholarship at [[Long Island University]] in the [[Metropolitan Collegiate Conference]], from 1964–67 Leibowitz scored a total of 1,032 points.<ref name=liu/><ref name=perf/> He helped lead the [[LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds|LIU Blackbirds]] to a 60–18 record, three consecutive Tri-State League championships, and three straight [[NCAA]] College Division appearances.<ref name=liu/> He was All-Met and All-Tri-State in 1966, co-captain of the team in 1966–67, and was named an [[All-American]] in 1967.<ref>[https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/liuathletics.com/documents/2019/1/7/2018_19_LIU_Men_s_Basketball_Record_Book.pdf "Men's Basketball Record Book 2018–19,"] LIU Blackbirds.</ref><ref>Jesse Silver (July 1, 1966). [https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/djnews/djn.1966.07.01.001/37 "Athletes in a Variety of Sports,"] ''The Detroit Jewish News''.</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/1966-67-complete-sports-basketball/1966-67%20Complete%20Sports%20Basketball_djvu.txt "College previews; Top 20 teams,"] 1966–67 Complete Sports Basketball.</ref>
He played for the United States in the 1966 Pan American [[Maccabiah Games]] in [[São Paulo]], Brazil, at which Team USA won a gold medal.<ref name=ira/><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/djnews/djn.1966.08.12.001/14|date=August 12, 1966 |title= Maccabiah Games in Brazil Aug. 23|website=The Detroit Jewish News }}</ref> Leibowitz played alongside, among others, [[Mark Turenshine]] and future [[NBA]] players [[Dave Newmark]] and [[Rick Weitzman]].<ref name="auto"/><ref name=perf/>
==American Basketball Association career== After graduating from LIU in 1967, Leibowitz was selected by the [[New York Knicks]] in the fifth round (48th overall) of the [[1967 NBA Draft]], and by the [[Pittsburgh Pipers]] with the 12th pick in the [[ABA Draft]] (directly ahead of [[Clem Haskins]]).<ref name=ins/><ref>[https://www.retroseasons.com/leagues/aba/1967/draft-picks/ "American Basketball Association; 1966–67 ABA Season Overview,"] Retroseasons.com.</ref> He chose to play for Pittsburgh in the new [[American Basketball Association]].<ref name=ins/>
Leibowitz played one season (1967–68) in the [[American Basketball Association]] (ABA) as a member of the [[Pittsburgh Pipers]], [[New Jersey Americans]], and [[Oakland Oaks (ABA)|Oakland Oaks]].<ref name=ref/> He was traded twice and played for three teams in the first four months of the season.<ref name=ins/> Playing first for the Pipers alongside [[Connie Hawkins]], who had played for the [[Harlem Globetrotters]] and asserted that in their travels he had become fluent in 50 to 60 languages, Leibowitz quipped: "He learned one word in every country, so he thought he was fluent in fifty to sixty languages. And nobody was going to argue with him."<ref>Mike Sielski (2025). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Magic_in_the_Air/bhgCEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22barry+leibowitz%22+%22basketball%22&pg=PT99&printsec=frontcover ''Magic in the Air; The Myth, the Mystery, and the Soul of the Slam Dunk''] St. Martin's Publishing Group.</ref><ref>Chuck Curti (May 7, 2018). [https://archive.triblive.com/sports/us-world/quotes-anecdotes-from-pittsburgh-pipers-50th-reunion/ "Quotes, anecdotes from Pittsburgh Pipers' 50th reunion,"] ''Trib Live''.</ref>
Leibowitz was traded by the Pittsburgh Pipers to the [[New Jersey Americans]] (now the [[Brooklyn Nets]] in the [[NBA]]) for [[Art Heyman]] (the first overall pick in the first round of the 1963 NBA draft) in December 1967; the ''[[Miami News]]'' called it "one of the few straight-Jewish-player trades in sports history."<ref name=ins/><ref>Mark Whited (May 2, 2019). [https://cs.observer-reporter.com/news/2019/may/02/author-commemorates-pittsburghs-forgotten-championship/?tag=washington-county "Author commemorates Pittsburgh’s forgotten championship,"] ''Observer-Reporter''.</ref><ref>[https://tercrowley.com/2019/09/25/50-years-ago-pro-basketball-came-to-florida-remembering-the-miami-floridians/ "Miami’s First Pro Basketball Team: Remembering the Floridians 1968–1972,"] Terry Crowley, September 25, 2019.</ref> Two months later, Leibowitz was traded again, this time to the [[Oakland Oaks (ABA)|Oakland Oaks]] (for [[Levern Tart|Levern "Jelly" Tart]], who was leading the league in scoring at the time), with whom he finished the year.<ref name=ins/><ref>Terry Pluto (2011). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Loose_Balls/G_FAzZA07tUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22barry+leibowitz%22+%22basketball%22&pg=PA89&printsec=frontcover ''Loose Balls''.]</ref><ref>[http://www.remembertheaba.com/new-jersey-americans.html "New Jersey Americans,"] Remember the ABA.</ref> In 82 games, he averaged 10.9 points and 3.7 [[Assist (basketball)|assist]]s per game, while shooting 80.5% from the [[free throw line]] (11th in the ABA).<ref name=ref/> He was 5th in the ABA in assists (301).<ref name=ref/>
==Israeli professional career== ===Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Haifa=== In June 1968 before the start of the 1968–69 season, the Oakland Oaks sought to send Leibowitz to the [[New Orleans Buccaneers]] in a trade for point guard [[Larry Brown (basketball)|Larry Brown]] and small forward [[Doug Moe]], and he was signed to a two-year contract for $11,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|11,000|1968|r=-3}}}} in current dollar terms) a season.<ref name=ron/><ref name=udi/><ref name=rons>Ron Smith, John Gardella (2003). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Official_NBA_Register/AFnUtCaEJ4wC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22barry+leibowitz%22+%22basketball%22&dq=%22barry+leibowitz%22+%22basketball%22&printsec=frontcover ''Official NBA Register,''] Sporting News Publishing Company.</ref> The Buccaneers then traded him with that contract to the [[Utah Jazz]].<ref name=ira/>
During that off-season, however, Leibowitz decided against playing for a fourth team in the ABA. During his summer vacation he took a trip to the Greek islands, after which he dropped by for a three-day visit with his college teammate [[Ivan Leshinsky]] and his friend [[Mark Turenshine]] who were playing basketball in Israel.<ref name=ira/><ref name=raf/><ref name=udi/> Unexpectedly, he ended up signing to play in Israel as well, instead of returning to the U.S.<ref name=ira/><ref name=raf/><ref name=udi/> He spoke to his new coach in the U.S., who told him that it was a shame, but that if Israel did not work out for him "then come, you have a place."<ref name=ira/> So he said to himself: "What do I have to lose? I'll try it for a year and if it doesn't work out, I'll come back."<ref name=ira/><ref name=Jess>Jess Silver (December 6, 1968). [https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/djnews/djn.1968.12.06.001/47 "Israel Readies its Maccabia Games,"] ''The Detroit Jewish News''.</ref> He later said that he stayed in Israel because of its sea, [[hummus]], and [[Tahini#Israel|tahini]] with olive oil.<ref name=ira/>
Leibowitz played professionally in Israel for [[Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C.|Hapoel Tel Aviv]] of the [[Israeli Basketball Premier League]], with whom his first salary was 600 Israeli pounds ($170 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|171|1968|r=-2}}}} in current dollar terms)) per month.<ref name=ron>Ron Ornan and Avi Amikam (February 22, 2002). [https://www-makorrishon-co-il.translate.goog/nrg/online/archive/ART/252/056.html?_x_tr_sl=iw&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc "The guys line up for a photo shoot and Barry demands: "Losers on one side, winners on the other,"] ''Makor Rishon''.</ref> He played for the team from 1968 until 1982, with a short break from playing.<ref name=ron/> He was temporarily banned by [[FIBA]] from playing because he was not an amateur, having played one season in the ABA, and he instead became the team’s coach for a time.<ref name=raf/><ref name=ron/><ref name=ban>[https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/news/the-club-scene-hapoel-tel-aviv/ "The Club Scene: Hapoel Tel Aviv,"] Euroleague Basketball, November 18, 2022.</ref> He coached the team to the Israeli Basketball Premier League and [[Israeli Basketball State Cup]] double in 1968–69.<ref name=ban/> He then returned strictly as a player.<ref name=ban/> In 1976, Leibowitz scored 51 points in a [[1975–76 FIBA Korać Cup|Korac Cup]] game against Spain's [[FC Barcelona Bàsquet]], although Hapoel Tel Aviv lost 117–126.<ref name=ban/><ref name=udi/> His high-scoring season was 1979, when he averaged 22.6 points per game.<ref>[https://www-basket-co-il.translate.goog/all-time-players.asp?PlayerId=10030&_x_tr_sl=iw&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc "All-time scorers,"] basket-co-il.</ref> He was named the Israeli Basketball Premier League Player of the Year in 1975, and a Premier League All Star in 1973 and 1975, 1976, and 1977.<ref name=raf/> From 1982 to 1985 he played for [[Hapoel Haifa B.C.|Hapoel Haifa]].<ref name=Jess/><ref name=ron/> In 1985, at 40 years of age, he retired from basketball.<ref name=udi/>
==Israeli national team and Maccabiah Games career== Leibowitz was the captain of [[Israel national basketball team|Israeli national team]] that won the [[silver medal]] at [[EuroBasket 1979]] in Italy.<ref name=ira/><ref>[https://kosmagazin.com/101-greats-lou-silver/ "101 Greats: Lou Silver,"] ''Kos'', August 17, 2020.</ref> He also played for it in the [[EuroBasket 1973|1973]], [[EuroBasket 1975|1975]], [[EuroBasket 1977|1977]], and [[EuroBasket 1981|1981]] [[EuroBasket|European championship]]s.<ref>[https://www.fiba.basketball/en/players/162541-barry-leibowitz "Barry Leibowitz,"] FIBA Basketball.</ref><ref>[http://www.todor66.com/basketball/Europe/Men_1977.html "Men Basketball XX European Championship 1977 Liege, Oostende (BEL),"] Todor 66.</ref><ref>Lianne Merkur (September 4, 2008). [https://www.jpost.com/sports/legendary-ta-ussishkin-arena-may-be-rebuilt "Legendary TA Ussishkin arena may be rebuilt,"] ''The Jerusalem Post''.</ref>
He played basketball in the [[1973 Maccabiah Games]]. There, he won a [[gold medal]] with Team Israel alongside [[Tal Brody]] and [[Mickey Berkowitz]].<ref>[https://www.maccabiah.com/en/?view=article&id=594:ninth-maccabiah&catid=41 "Ninth Maccabiah 1973 | July 9–19,"] Maccabiah.com.</ref> He also played for Team Israel in the [[1977 Maccabiah Games]], winning a silver medal.<ref name="auto1asdf">{{Cite web|url=https://www.maccabiah.com/en/maccabiah/maccabiah-history/tenth-maccabiah|title=Tenth Maccabiah – Maccabiah 21|website=maccabiah.com}}</ref><ref name="auto4asdf">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/07/21/archives/us-quintet-captures-gold-at-maccabiahs.html|title=U.S. Quintet Captures Gold At Maccabiahs|date=July 21, 1977|work=The New York Times}}</ref>
==Hall of Fame== In 2002, Leibowitz was inducted into the LIU Athletics Hall of Fame.<ref name=liu>[https://brooklyn.liuathletics.com/mobile/hof.aspx?hof=41 "Barry Leibowitz,"] LIU Athletics.</ref>
==Personal== While in Israel, Leibowitz married an Israeli woman, and [[aliyah|made ''aliyah'']] by immigrating to Israel.<ref name=raf>Rafael Na'eh (June 19, 2023). [https://www-ynet-co-il.translate.goog/sport/article/5532924?_x_tr_sl=iw&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc "The tourist who became a star / making history,"] ''Ynet''.</ref><ref>Harvey Rosen (May 4, 1979). [https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=JPOST19790504-01.1.4&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- "Prospects For Ball Players Not Encouraging,"] ''The Jewish Post and Opinion''.</ref> In 2002, he was working as a children's basketball coach, but his main profession was as a high school teacher of physiology and anatomy.<ref name=ron/> He later lived in [[Plantation, Florida]], and [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]].<ref name=ira/><ref name=udi>Udi Hirsch (April 3, 2004). [https://www-makorrishon-co-il.translate.goog/nrg/online/archive/ART/661/569.html?_x_tr_sl=iw&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc "Barry's Disasters,"] ''Makor Rishon''.</ref> He has a daughter, Alona, who lives in Israel, is married to Israeli coach and former basketball player [[Yehu Orland]], and has a son named Omri.<ref>Gidi Lipkin (November 18, 2013). [https://www-one-co-il.translate.goog/Article/225589.html?_x_tr_sl=iw&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc "Leibovich: Hapoel can win the derby if they stay strong,"] ''One''.</ref><ref name=ira>Irad Tzafrir (November 14, 2017). [https://www-haaretz-co-il.translate.goog/sport/tapina/2017-11-14/ty-article/0000017f-e1f9-df7c-a5ff-e3fb52280000?_x_tr_sl=iw&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_hist=true "Barry Leibovitz: "What did I stay in Israel for? Sea, hummus and tahini with olive oil,"] ''Haaretz''.</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{basketballstats|bbr=l/leiboba01}} *[https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100037076662790&locale=cx_PH Facebook page] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLcku654uFQ&ab_channel=All%E2%80%A2in-%D7%94%D7%91%D7%99%D7%AA%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%94%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%93%D7%A7%D7%A1%D7%98%D7%99%D7%9D "בארי לייבוביץ׳ #5"], interview, August 2024 (''audio'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leibowitz, Barry}} [[Category:1945 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:20th-century American Jews]] [[Category:20th-century Israeli Jews]] [[Category:20th-century Israeli sportsmen]] [[Category:American emigrants to Israel]] [[Category:American men's basketball coaches]] [[Category:American men's basketball players]] [[Category:Basketball coaches from Florida]] [[Category:Basketball coaches from New York (state)]] [[Category:Basketball players from Fort Lauderdale, Florida]] [[Category:Basketball players from the Bronx]] [[Category:Competitors at the 1977 Maccabiah Games]] [[Category:DeWitt Clinton High School alumni]] [[Category:Flamingo's Haarlem players]] [[Category:Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players]] [[Category:Israeli men's basketball players]] [[Category:Jewish American basketball coaches]] [[Category:Jewish American basketball players]] [[Category:Jewish Israeli sportspeople]] [[Category:Jews from Florida]] [[Category:Jews from New York (state)]] [[Category:LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball players]] [[Category:Maccabiah Games basketball players for Israel]] [[Category:Maccabiah Games silver medalists for Israel]] [[Category:New Jersey Americans players]] [[Category:New York Knicks draft picks]] [[Category:Oakland Oaks players]] [[Category:Pittsburgh Pipers draft picks]] [[Category:Pittsburgh Pipers players]] [[Category:Point guards]] [[Category:Shooting guards]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Plantation, Florida]]