He comes from a wealthy family, he has personal sponsors, on the street he was arrested for a selfie and last season he was named the outstanding player in the country.
But Nathan Jorkovich wanted to examine himself at the highest levels and signed with Hapoel Beer Sheva • Interview
Djorkovic.
He found his Jewish roots in his grandfather
Photography:
Liron Moldovan
Nathan Jorkowicz is a famous man in Switzerland.
Large companies in the country serve as its sponsors, and on the streets of the canton of Freiburg (district) people arrest him for selfies and autographs.
This is how it is when you are one of the most famous basketball players in the country, a key screw in the national team and last season a team for the outstanding player of the season in the local league.
Neither money is really lacking for Nathan nor for his family.
Both parents work for one of the richest companies in the country.
His mother is in charge of computing at the company and his father is in charge of the logistics department.
Despite this, last summer, the player decided to leave Switzerland, and used his Jewish roots to obtain Israeli citizenship and signed for three years with Hapoel B'Shlosha.
"Switzerland is not such a good league and I wanted to play in a top league like Israel," he tells Israel Today, "there are things I want to achieve in my basketball career and I can not achieve that in Switzerland. It is very easy for a Swiss player to play in our league because "There are not many players there, so everyone can play in the first league, but my goal is to achieve other things and do things in my career."
"Want to stay in Israel for many years"
Although he was the best player in the Swiss league last season and also played in Freiburg which participated in the Champions League and with which he won two championships and three trophies, Jorkovic (25, 2.02 m) took a long time to adapt to Rami Hadar's professional requirements in the Israeli league By the time he was able to adjust he was injured in the national team window in November and only recently returned to play.
Rami Hadar. "The coach trusts me," Gorkovich is sure // Photo: Liron Moldovan
B'Sh. Tells of a diverse forward who lowers the ball to the floor, can score well from all ranges and with long and good hands, and is sure that as time goes on he will see his full potential. Rebounds and snatched three times.
"I feel good physically and mentally, the club here is very professional and helps with everything I need. The coach trusts me so I can get better," he says. "I already had tough coaches like Remy, but he is special in his way of coaching and I really like working with him."
"I am a good player who wants to play in good leagues," he adds, "Israel is a very good league, so my goal is to stay here for a few years. I hope that happens."
Started at all in football, in France
Jorkowicz in general was born in the French city of Poitier to parents who were professional volleyball players.
His mother even played for the French national team.
When he was 5, his father found a good job in Switzerland and since then the family has lived in the small town of Villars-sur-Glan in the suburbs of Freiburg.
To this day, his mother plays volleyball in the lower league and his father keeps fit along with friends in the neighborhood.
His younger brother Thomas (23) also plays basketball and was included in the squad of Geneva, the leader of the Swiss league.
Nathan makes sure to watch all of his brother's games and the two talk for hours.
"Thomas is my best friend," Nathan misses, "I just spoke to him before the interview with you and I will return to him later. It will be cool if he also comes to play in Israel."
Even before he started playing basketball, the forward generally played football for eight years.
In the orange ball he fell in love with the 2008 Beijing Olympics. "I watched all the basketball games that were at the Olympics and fell in love."
Since then he started playing and training, and in 2012 even traveled for a year in the US where he attended Lake Oswego High School in Oregon and developed his basketball skills. He later returned to Switzerland and as mentioned soon became one of the top players in his country.
Between the Western Wall near Eliyahu
And where are the Jewish roots?
His paternal grandfather is Jewish.
"My grandfather taught my father all the holidays and customs. My father knows everything, but mostly my grandfather practices the religion. At home we did not so much observe the Jewish customs and it is not something that is present in our lives significantly, but my brother and I are very curious people, so we learned a little "Over the years. That's why I'm also happy to come to Israel. It's a country with a lot of history, and I want to expand my knowledge of the country and the Jews. After the closure ends I want to visit Jerusalem and feel how people live and feel in such a special city."
Even before he visits the Western Wall and the other many heritage sites in the Holy Land, Jorkovich will be hosted today at Menora Mivtachim Hall by Maccabi Tel Aviv and he knows that a good ability against the champion will help him fulfill his goal and stay in Israeli basketball for a long time.
