NBA’s Sacramento Kings draft Tel Aviv-born Emanuel Sharp

University of Houston MVP and son of Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball legend Derrick Sharp joins three fellow Israeli nationals in the top American league

The Sacramento Kings have drafted Tel Aviv-born guard Emanuel Sharp, who will become the fourth Israeli citizen currently in the NBA.

Sharp, who won MVP playing for the University of Houston Cougars in the Big 12 last year, is the son of former Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball star Derrick Sharp and previously played for Israel’s under-16 national team.

He was selected in the draft’s second round at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Wednesday, the 45th of 60 players tapped for the NBA this week.

Another Israeli hopeful, the University of Utah’s Noam Yaacov, did not make the draft.

Emanuel Sharp will be the second Israeli citizen to ever play for the Kings, who in 2009 drafted Omri Casspi, the first Israeli to play in an NBA game.

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Other Israelis currently in the top American league include the Portland Trailblazers All-Star Deni Avdija, and Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf of the Brooklyn Nets.

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