His father played 11 years in the NBA, his two brothers are in a bubble in Orlando and Horace Dudu has four championship rings, but Jaree Grant had a different track • "When I was not selected in the draft I felt it was like a lost dream" "Can surprise Maccabi Rishon LeZion"

• Grant. Controls rebound and writes poetry in his spare time

  Photo: 

  Liron Moldovan

One of the most intriguing names to land in Israel before the league resumes is Jeray Grant from Maccabi Haifa, also thanks to his personal resume (winning the Greek Cup with AEK Athens this season and other career titles), but mainly due to his family background.

Jerai is the son of Harvey who played 11 seasons in the NBA and averaged 9.9 points per game, and the nephew of Horace, who won four NBA championships, three with the Chicago Bulls alongside Michael Jordan and one with the Lakers with Kobe Bryant And Shaquille O'Neal. On top of that, his younger brothers Jeremy (Denver) and Jarian (Washington) are currently playing in the best league in the world and preparing for the season renewal in Orlando.  

"I'm from a basketball family," he says in an interview with Israel Today, "but at the same time I have maintained significant things in my life. It is true that basketball is a major thing in our home, but the Grant family has many other interesting topics to talk about."

What is it like to grow up with an NBA player dad?

"It was amazing, I learned a lot from him. He passed on to me a lot of knowledge that I use to this day. If you want a funny story, when I was a kid I would bring the balls in Orlando's hall and I remember once after one of the games I was asked on TV who I like best and instead of saying "Dad, I answered Juan Howard. Let's just say I had a deal with him when I got home."

Unlike your father and brother, you never got to play in the best league in the world. Are you disappointed?

"Playing in the NBA is one of those things that every kid dreams of. When I was not drafted and could not find a team I felt it was like a lost dream, but since then I have not looked in that direction anymore. I have my daughter, and as far as my goal was to reach "In the NBA, I had a goal to stay close to my family. Of course, when you are young, everyone wants an NBA, but when you grow up, you realize that there are more important things."

"'The Last Dance' did not innovate much"

Uncle Horace recently made headlines following the broadcast of the "Last Dance" series, in which he was accused of leaking to reporters about Jordan's conduct in the locker room. Grant sharply attacked the producers of the series, claiming that everything was edited and that lies were being told. "I spoke to him recently and he sounded happy," Jerai smiles, "after the interviews he gave to 'The Last Dance' you can't complain."

Horace Grant (right) with Jordan and Pippin // Photo: EP

When I ask for his personal opinion on the series, he replies briefly: "Honestly, everyone who knows basketball already knows what they saw there, so it didn't innovate too much. But it was a good production and was fun to watch."

What was he telling at home during his time in Chicago and the Lakers?

"I don't remember too much. I just remember he would talk a lot about the immense competitiveness of Michael and Kobe."

It's impossible without asking - Tim Jordan or Tim LeBron?

"All the time the guys in the locker room are asking me this question. The truth is I do not know. Both are good in their time, so it's hard for me to decide. I'm sorry, but I really can not choose between them."

If we leave the family for a moment and go back to Jara himself, he seems to be a special personality. He spends his free time writing. "I write opinions, poetry, short stories. But I still haven't published anything and everything is in my drawer, even though my wife pushes me into it," he says. 

He surprised his wife Jessica with an exciting marriage proposal when he was a Neptune player in the semifinals of the playoffs against Zalgiris Kaunas. 

"I planned to offer her a lot of time, only I did not know when the right time to do it. I talked to someone from the team and we arranged something for her. Before the anthem we decided to show a clip of me and Jessica and it was exciting. The announcer told her to get to the middle of the field "The ring and I offered it to her. It was a magical and beautiful moment. We also won by 25 points. Then she said she was expecting it."

Since then his wife and daughter 9-year-old Haley have accompanied him wherever he plays, and the list goes on - 11 teams and eight countries ("we enjoyed Australia the most") in nine years.

In 2013, you played for a short time at Hapoel Holon and left. why?

"There were disagreements with the team. I remember when I left I said I would never play in Israel again, but in the end it turned out well. They had a good season, and I went and won the championship in Latvia and it arranged for me to continue my career. And now I am here again."

Professionally, the feeling is that we have not yet seen the maximum from Maccabi Haifa and Grant. It took time for the Greens to connect, and now they hope that in the playoffs that will begin tonight against Maccabi Rishon LeZion, they will look much better.

"Most of us are new," he explains, "the veterans were already with chemistry and we are not. When putting together new pieces feel the difference, but we have improved, and I feel we are playing better. We are more connected and our defense is worth more. We have a good match-up with Rishon LeZion, and maybe we can surprise a lot of people. "