Overview
- Several U.S. reports say discussions between Russell Westbrook and Hapoel Tel Aviv have “continued to advance,” citing a post by journalist Marc Jacobs and summaries in The Athletic.
- No contract has been announced and outlets that reported progress describe the talks as advanced negotiations rather than a completed deal.
- High-profile insiders including Marc Stein and Brett Siegel have publicly disputed the overseas-talks narrative and called the Hapoel reports unverified or false.
- Westbrook is a 37-year-old unrestricted free agent, the NBA’s career triple-double leader and a former MVP, and he has a recent pattern of late or low-cost signings that makes both a late NBA return and an overseas move plausible.
- If confirmed, a signing would be a landmark for Hapoel and European basketball, but for now the story remains a contested report and should be watched for direct confirmation from the club or player.