Ryan Turell Becomes First Orthodox Professional Basketball Player

By Isaac Sharret and Sam Kishelev ‘26
Ryan Turell recently became the first Orthodox Jew to play professional basketball. He has joined the NBA G League where he maintains his Jewish lifestyle and attempts to educate his teammates on his religion.

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Turell was born in Valley Village, California, to an Orthodox Jewish household with one sister and brother. As described by an ESPN article, Turell and his siblings “grew up in a household with twin focuses: basketball and Judaism.”
Turell had scholarship offers from various Division 1 schools such as Army and Air Force. However, he opted for Yeshiva University in New York in order to stay true to his identity as a Jewish athlete, intending “to motivate and inspire kids and people to be true to who they are and still chase their dreams,” he told reporter Yaron Weitzman.
Turell was consistently scouted in college due to his impressive abilities: in his final year at YU, Turell averaged 27.1 points per game, shooting 59% from the field and 47% from three. Turell also won many awards for his performance during college, being named to the D3 hoops All-American First Team (three years in a row) and also getting named the D3 hoops region three player of the year. 
 “Unfortunately, I did not expect Turell to be drafted but I was super happy when I found out that he was drafted”.
After college, Turell went to the NBA G league, where he was drafted 27th overall by the Motor City Cruise. He currently averages 7.2 points per game in just under 16 minutes per game. His season high so far is 21 points, in a contest in which he shot 8 of 10 from the field and 4 of 5 from three.
During Turell’s first Friday with the team they had a game right before Shabbat. Turell’s team did not fully understand why he could not take the bus back with the team following the win, yet rather than get frustrated, Turell likes to enjoy moments when he can publicly talk about his religious beliefs. Here, Turell took advantage to enlighten his teammates about Judaism on the walk back to the hotel, where a Shabbat dinner was already prepared for him. 
Although Turell is not a starter on Motor City Cruise, many people still like to come to his games to watch him play. 
“It is inspirational to see someone like Turell to have come so far along his dream of becoming an NBA player,” said freshman Henry Sacks.
In a recent game, a group of three teenagers wearing kippahs sat close to the Motor City Cruise bench. Afterwards, Turell told reporter Yaron Weitzman, “I am glad I have an opportunity to shine a light on the Jewish people, some of this is bigger than basketball.” Turell wants to be an example for other Jewish basketball players who want to eventually go pro. 
Turell has dealt with antisemitism throughout his entire life. Growing up, he would even take his kippah off during pickup games in hopes of avoiding discrimination. Nevertheless, he has continued to overcome these challenges, and remains extremely proud of his religion and identity, aspiring to be a “Jewish hero.” That goal not only influenced him to choose Yeshiva University, but also continues to motivate him on his path to show that balancing Judaism and basketball is possible.