Kippah-wearing basketball player Ryan Turell had his first 30-point game in his NBA minor league career with the Motor City Cruise. During their regular season finale against the Raptors 905, Turell scored 34 points, going 14-22 from the field and 5-8 from beyond the arc. Despite his remarkable performance, the Motor City Cruise couldn’t secure a win, losing 109-104.
Turell, a 6-foot-7-inch forward who led the country in scoring as a senior at Yeshiva University in New York City before being drafted by the Detroit Pistons, has shared his journey into professional basketball in an Amazon Prime Video documentary titled “Destination NBA: A G League Odyssey.”
“It would be a dream come true for me, but it’s also something people thought was impossible, right? That an Orthodox Jewish kid could make the NBA,” Turell said. “The ultimate goal for me is to inspire kids to just put in the work and not let their beliefs or where they come from hold them back. I’ve said it before, but it would be cool to see a couple of yarmulkes on the NBA court when I’m retired. That would be amazing to me.”
Regarding the challenges of maintaining Kosher and observing Shabbat, the “Jewish Jordan” noted, “It was definitely an adjustment. At Yeshiva University, where it’s all Orthodox Jews, kosher food is easy to access. But the Pistons organization has been incredibly understanding of my situation, helping me access kosher food and find places close to the gym so I could make the walks on Shabbat.”
