36 | NOVEMBER 17 • 2022 

J

ewish sports history was made the 
afternoon of Oct. 22. At the 22nd 
draft of the National Basketball 
Association’s minor-league “G League,” 
Ryan Turell, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard, 
became the first Orthodox Jewish player 
selected in the G League draft. If he 
eventually makes it to the NBA, he would 
be the first Orthodox Jew to play in the 
league.
“Being the first Orthodox Jew in the 
NBA would mean the world to me, and 
a dream come true, God willing,” Turell 
told ESPN last March. “But, just as 
importantly, it would mean the world to 
others who never saw this as a possibility.” 
Months after suffering a foot injury 
that prevented participation in the NBA’s 
Summer League, Turell’s dreams wouldn’t 
be exiled for long. He’d head to a new city 

to play for the Detroit Piston’s minor-
league team, the Motor City Cruise. He’s 
first to play in a yarmulke. The first to be 
observant of Shabbat.
It was at Yeshiva University in New 
York where Turell, an NCAA superstar, 
led the No. 1-ranked, Division III 
Maccabees to a historic 50-game winning 
streak. According to ESPN, he was the 
highest-scoring player across all NCAA 
divisions with an average of 27.1 points 
per game and a three-point shot success 
rate of 47%.
On Oct. 23, he arrived in town for the 
first time as a member of the Motor City 
Cruise. He spent little time wandering as 
training was soon to begin. He unpacked 
in his new Midtown residence and saw 
the training space, neighborhood and city 
that he’d now call home.

He arrived with a keen perception of 
his status as a role model. “It’s God first,” 
Turell told the Jewish News. “You know 
everything else comes after that. I’m very 
faithful to Hashem, my God. I try to be 
a practicing Orthodox Jew, and I’m very 
prideful about my religion.
“I can help inspire all the young, Jewish 
or non-Jewish, people who [question] 
whether they can attain their goals 
because of where they come from or what 
they believe in,” he added, “to show them 
that it doesn’t matter where you come 
from. It doesn’t matter what you believe 
in. As long as you put in the work, you 
can make it.”

WELCOME TO DETROIT
After a few days on the ground, Turell 
still had little time to wander around. 
“I’m liking it. So far, so good,” he 
remarked after his first 100 hours. His 
draft announcement would be a top story 
on ESPN. And, after a couple days in 
Detroit, many would already ask how it 
is going. 
“I’ve met a lot of nice people,” Turell 
said. “The Detroit organization is 
amazing. Training camp has been tough. 
You know, everybody’s competing, 
everybody’s working hard. It’s a very 
healthy basketball environment. And, 
you know, for someone who loves the 
game, this is amazing. It’s just an amazing 
opportunity and an amazing feeling.”
Detroit has welcomed an array of 
younger Jewish adults over the last 
decade, but this would be its first NBA 
player.
Rabbi Yisrael Pinson, founder of 
ChabaD of Greater Downtown Detroit, 
has seen the growth of the 
city as a place for young 
adults to work and live — 
and also to study — with 
medical residents and 
students from Wayne State 
University attending events 
and Shabbat dinners on many 
occasions. 
For Pinson, though, this is the 
first time he’d welcome an observant 
professional athlete to his new home in 

SPORTS

A
Shot at
History!

Rabbi 
Yisrael 
Pinson

Detroit welcomes 
Ryan Turell as the 
NBA’s first Orthodox 
Jewish prospect.

ADAM FINKEL CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Ryan Turell

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DETROIT PISTONS

