HoopsHype reports that former Miami Heat forward Chris Silva has reached an agreement to sign a contract with Bnei Herzliya, an Israeli basketball team. The Israeli Basketball Premier League includes the club as a member.
In the 2023–24 season, Silva played a significant role for the College Park Skyhawks, the Atlanta Hawks’ G League club, before deciding to pursue his professional basketball career in Israel. Following his G League season, he played in Puerto Rico for a while.
Throughout the G League regular season, Silva made 25 appearances with the Skyhawks, averaging 17.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.1 blocks per game on 52.5 percent shooting from the field.
The 27-year-old’s performance in the G League Showcase Cup for the Skyhawks was as outstanding. Of all the players on the team, he scored the second-most points per game (17.2) and topped the group in made free throws per game (3.5).
With the Heat in the 2019–20 regular season, Silva had his first taste of NBA action. During his first season in the NBA, he played in 44 games and averaged 3.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks per game for a Heat team that advanced to the NBA Finals.
However, he found it more difficult to earn playing time in the NBA in the years that followed after playing 44 games as a rookie. During his sophomore season, the Heat traded him away, and he began to bounce around the league until eventually returning to Miami.
During the trip, he witnessed activity for the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Sacramento Kings. Since the 2022–2023 season, when he made one appearance for the Mavericks, he has not participated in an NBA game.
Though it’s difficult to imagine that Silva won’t get regular playing time with Bnei Herzliya given how well he scored the ball with the Hawks’ G League affiliate last season, only time will tell if Silva can translate his success from the G League into the Israeli Basketball Premier League in the 2024–25 season.
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