He was linked with Fenerbahce Beko! Major crisis in the Israeli team.
It was reported that Saben Lee, who transferred from Manisa Basket to Maccabi Tel Aviv, refused to play in Israel.
According to reports, EuroLeague team Maccabi Tel Aviv’s new signing Saben Lee made a striking decision, as he declined to wear the team’s jersey in Israel. Greek media outlet SDNA reported that, despite signing a contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Saben Lee has been continuing his training in Serbia due to security concerns in Israel.
It was stated that Saben Lee did not want to go to Israel and thus did not play in Maccabi Tel Aviv’s league match against Gilboa Galil.
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s head coach Oded Kattash made the following statement regarding Saben Lee’s refusal to play in Israel:
“Adapting in this way is not easy. We are on the verge of the impossible. In the first game, when Saben Lee entered, it was natural for us to play a little differently and be one-sided. But for us to get to where we want, he needs to be with the team and train. It’s really hard to respond to this because I’ve never encountered anything like it before.”
Saben Lee, after leaving Manisa Basket, had been linked with Fenerbahce Beko. He signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv and played his first game for the Israeli side against Anadolu Efes.
In the match against Anadolu Efes, Saben Lee scored 23 points and had 5 assists.
