James Webb positioned to be X-Factor for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Euroleague title quest

Maccabi Tel Aviv is in the midst of a classic Euroleague quarterfinals series against one of its arch rivals in Panathinaikos and the stakes are as high as ever.

This year marks the first time that the yellow-and-blue will tip off against the Greek squad in postseason play since a 2012 series that saw the two teams battle it out in a 5-game classic. That series ultimately saw the Greeks snatch a razor-thin 86-85 Game 5 win at the cavernous and rocking OAKA Arena in Athens that went right down to the wire.

This year, Maccabi and Panathinaikos are once again looking to write the next chapter in their illustrious history and one of the players who may be the X-Factor in the series is James Webb, who is in his first season with Tel Aviv.

The 30-year old Webb made his debut in the Euroleague last year with Valencia and has also played in Greece and Germany as well as in the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets and in the G-League.

Webb sat down with The Jerusalem Post to look at the big series in front of the club along with the past season, the trials and tribulations of October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, and much more.

“I’m very excited to have the opportunity to participate in the Euroleague playoffs. As an American, playing in Europe is a dream of the big stage,” Webb began.

Maccabi ended the regular season with a 20-14 record which was good enough for 7th place but also required the yellow-and-blue to take part in the Play In tournament in order to advance to the playoffs proper.

Oded Katash’s team was clicking on all cylinders in that game against Baskonia and cruised to a 113-85 victory that took place in Belgrade due to the war.

In addition, for the first time this season since the Euroleague opener on October 5 against Partizan Belgrade, Maccabi had fans in the stands at the Stark Arena and they were treated to a fabulous performance by star guards Lorenzo Brown and Wade Baldwin.

“It was great to have the fans, the more fans the better,” exclaimed Webb. “It’s been tough playing without fans, but the little bit that we did have brought a little bit of extra energy for us during the game. As for [Lorenzo Brown], who just became a father this week, he’s been having difficulties, everything has been going on, but to see your fellow teammate and brother have such a great night and success was great, especially that we made it to the playoffs.”

Webb also commented on Baldwin’s importance to Maccabi’s success.

“As for Wade, he’s one of the top scorers and top players in the Euroleague, as his numbers show. He’s having a great season as well and he’s one of our captains and leaders, he brings a certain tenacity to the team and makes everybody want to get better. It helps to have two of the best guards in the Euroleague, and we let them do what they do, and we follow their lead. But it’s more of a team effort, and our energy will decide how we are night in and night out.”

Maccabi is one of the best rebounding teams in Europe, and Webb has been an important factor in that regard when coming off of the bench, whether it’s on the offensive or defensive ends.

“I just try to go out there and grab the basketball, but it helps having Josh Nebo, who is a top offensive rebounder and rebounder as well. I think they will be focused on Josh and I can try and sneak a couple of offensive rebounds. But we also have Roman Sorkin, Jake Cohen, Antonius Cleveland and Bonzie Colson who can rebound the ball as well. I don’t think it’s going to be a single person that’s going to rebound the ball but it’s going to be more like a group effort.”

Just like everyone else in the Holy Land, Hamas’s all-out attack against the country caught Webb by surprise, and he spoke about the situation and then had to move to Belgrade to continue the continental campaign.

“I was in my house, I think in my bed. I woke up the following morning trying to get ready for practice and got a lot of messages and alerts. When I signed with Maccabi, you don’t go into a basketball season thinking about war, tragedies or something like that, you just try to go in worrying about the season and what it’s going to entail and don’t see a war in the future.

“As for moving and playing in Belgrade, it’s very tough. You got to fly back and forth, find places to work out and practice gyms. It’s very tough, you don’t expect that. We were there the majority of the time and didn’t feel like Israel was our home place to play at the time.”

Returning to play

When the Israeli league returned to play, a number of foreigners, including Webb, decided to return to participate in the domestic league as they took to the floor in Herzliya obviously with concerns.

“For one, I didn’t have my family or anything here, and two it was also more of trying to help out the team as well, the situation was a tragedy so I tried to come and show that I’m committed and I’m here for the support. Yes, I was worried as you have that in the back of the mind, for sure.”

Moving back to the Euroleague, Webb didn’t see much time in the opening game of the season and made sure to work hard to show the staff that he was going to be an important key to the season.

“It’s a long season. I’m a new player coming into a team that had eight or nine players returning, something like that, and I’m a new face and a new style of play. So my job is always to convince the coaching staff that I can get some minutes. It wasn’t more convincing, it was just trying to figure out what I can do to help the team win.”

As for Katash, Webb only had good things to say about the bench boss.

“He’s great. He’s one of the best coaches out there, doesn’t get the credit that he deserves for sure, he does what’s needed and he also makes sure that the players are in top shape, not overworking them and stuff like that, to prepare them for this long season.”

Due to the Israeli league not getting under way earlier on in the season, Webb didn’t get the minutes that he truly needed to fully integrate into his first-year team until much later on in the season. However, Webb doesn’t believe it was that hard to make an impact with the squad.

“It wasn’t as tough. As a basketball player, your job is to stay ready. I still practice and work out every day with the team, so missing a game doesn’t affect the rhythm. It’s what comes with the job, you got to stay ready when your name is called, you got to be ready to perform. That’s part of being a professional.”

Some people raised questions about Webb’s finishing near the rim and his consistency from beyond the arc – he is shooting a respectable 35% from deep – but he knows that’s part of the job.

“Everybody is always going to critique something, it’s part of being a basketball player and the outside sources as well. I don’t really worry about that, it’s the game of basketball. Even Steph Curry has bad nights, I’m not comparing myself to Steph Curry, but as a basketball player you’re not going to be perfect and have the perfect game, you just got to do what you can do and provide what you can for a team. You’re going to make shots, miss shots, make layups, dunks and stuff like that, nobody is perfect and shoots 100 percent. It is what it is, but I don’t pay attention to that.”

Webb views himself as a team player first and foremost but is also willing to embrace those moments where he becomes the center of attention.

“100%, that’s what I’m here for. I’m not a star player, nothing like that. I’m here to add to the team whatever that may be, hustle plays, defense, shooting, cheering, energy, whatever is needed. The real me is every night. Some nights I may score a lot and some nights I may not, but how I impact the game is the real me. Over time, Coach Katash has used me in different ways because I’m versatile, I can add a lot of different things to the team, so it’s just all about a nightly basis of our matchups and who we are playing at the time.”

Webb, who was a great baseball player before developing as a hoopster, is known to be the funniest guy in the locker room.

“I just like to keep the energy light. I don’t know if you guys know or realize, but being around these players and coaching staff for around 300 days out of the year is like anything else. We’re going to have bad days or you’re not going to see eye to eye sometimes, but at the end of it we’re still a family and a team, so I just try to keep the energy positive and add a little laughter here when I can.”

The outset of the war was without a doubt the biggest challenge of the season for Webb and Maccabi, but it was also the moment that pulled everyone together.

“Expecting to go to practice and to have a full season in front of fans, it just kind of made it a 180-degree flip, turning our season into more about trying to win and make Israel proud at the time.”

Webb would be happy to continue on with Maccabi and sang the praises of the club,. even amid a season of turmoil off the court.

“The situation is great here, I’m learning a lot, great coaches and great players, team chemistry, we’re trying to take it as far as we can. It’s a great organization, everybody treats you well like family. It’s great.”

One of Webb’s former coaches was Maccabi standout Devin Smith and he still speaks with him on a frequent basis. Smith, who was part of the 2014 Tel Aviv team that won the Euroleague, is without question someone that the forward emulates and would love to match his accomplishment as well being perhaps the X-Factor on the court for the yellow-and-blue.

“The goal is to win the championship in the Euroleague. So every day we’re fighting to get better and fighting to get to that spot. X-Factor, for sure. My role changes night in and night out. I’m like a Swiss Army knife and I can do whatever you need me to do. Whatever our game plan is at the time, my role is going to be a little bit of everything.”