Fight Club: Hapoel's 2026/27 Team Takes Shape

At first glance, it looks like a movie about fistfights in a dark basement. But anyone who has seen it knows that the real story lies somewhere else.

Fight Club wasn't built around the strongest people. It was built around those who refused to break.

Once the door closed, it no longer mattered who was more talented or who walked in with more confidence. What separated people was who was willing to keep going when it hurt, who refused to quit, and who was ready to give everything for the person standing beside them.

That movie was called Fight Club.

In a way, that's also the story of the Hapoel team taking shape ahead of the 2026/27 season. Not a team built simply to impress on paper, but one built to turn every game into a fight. A team that will make life difficult for every opponent. The kind of team nobody will be happy to face.

And like any system, it all starts at the top.

At the top of the pyramid stands one man: Sasa Obradovic.

You don't have to read much about his career to understand the philosophy that has followed him throughout the years.

Toughness. Discipline. Physicality.

Obradovic believes great teams don't build their identity on talent alone, but on their ability to fight for every ball, take a hit and keep going, and make the opponent feel like every single point comes at a price.

He's the kind of coach who chooses heart over talent - and isn't afraid to say it.

And every fight club has the people who were already there when the doors opened.

Jared Harper may be one of the most talented players in Europe, but anyone who watches him knows his story doesn't end with points or his phenomenal ability to run the game. Time and time again, he attacks the paint, absorbs contact, gets to the line, gets back up and carries on as if nothing happened.

Ethan Burg is the kind of player every coach wants by his side. The guy who will be the first to dive onto the floor, give the hardwood a little love tap, get back up and keep going.

The rest of the players who stayed are exactly the kind of guys Sasa likes - players who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty.

A little header to the court, and we move on. Ethan Burg

But if that core was already in place, this summer added a few more important pieces that are turning it into a war machine.

It started with Jaleen Smith.
A big guard with an impressive wingspan, a high basketball IQ, and the ability to make an impact on both ends of the floor. He may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of EuroLeague stars, but he's exactly the kind of player coaches love to build teams around.

A guy who can do a little bit of everything - and, above all, make life particularly difficult for the guard standing across from him.

Three weeks later, the Pais Arena maintenance manager received a message:

Order new rims. Devontae Cacok has signed with Hapoel.

Anyone who has watched a few of his highlights knows exactly why.

Cacok may be slightly undersized at 2.01 meters, but he makes up for every centimeter with strength, athleticism and, above all, explosiveness.

As far as he's concerned, there's only one objective: get to the rim.

And if someone happens to be standing in the way, well, that's mostly their problem.

Good luck to the Arena maintenance crew. Cacok throws it down.

Then came David Roddy.

A former NBA player, from a league that - how should we put this - isn't exactly known for its defense.

But Roddy was different.

He uses his body on almost every possession. He doesn't shy away from contact - he looks for it. He's an excellent rebounder, can play both forward positions, knows how to pass, and above all brings the kind of physicality that isn't easy to deal with for forty minutes.

As the summer moves forward, a pattern is beginning to emerge.

These aren't just talented players.

These are players who enjoy contact. Players who aren't looking for a comfortable game, but are ready to turn it into a battle.

At that point, Hapoel went looking for a force multiplier.

Literally.

So they decided to bring one to Jerusalem: Kenny Lofton Jr.

Almost everything has already been written about him. But look beyond the numbers and you'll see something else.

Lofton knows exactly how to use his massive frame.

One thing is immediately clear: no matter who's standing in front of him, he's going to try to move them - not the other way around.

He can space the floor and knock down much-needed shots, but he can also take the ball, tell whoever is standing in his way to "move," and go straight to the basket.

Don't believe us?

Watch and decide for yourself:

Oh, and there's one more small detail.

During the 2022/23 season, he shared a locker room with David Roddy on Memphis' G League team. If some of that chemistry makes its way to Jerusalem, these two could very quickly become a serious headache for every opponent they face.

And we're still not done.

More players will join along the way and complete the puzzle.

In the end, Fight Club didn't become a cult classic because of the fights.

It became one because of the people who made up the club.

Will Hapoel's 2026/27 team become something similar?

Only time will tell.

But if there's one thing we can already recognize, it's that this summer hasn't been built around one name or another.

It's been built around character.

And if that character translates to what we see on the court, we're going to have a lot of fun watching it.

And there's a very good chance that every team that comes to face us will leave the game with the exact same thought:

"I don't want to go through that again."