Daniel Leslie Grunfeld (Hebrew: דן גרונפלד; born February 7, 1984) is an American professional basketball player, who last played as a small forward for Bnei Herzliya in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played briefly for Hapoel Holon, but left the team due to its financial problems, and signed a two-year contract with Hapoel Jerusalem starting at the beginning of November 2011.
Grunfeld is Jewish.[2][3] His grandmother is a Holocaust survivor whose life was saved twice by Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg―once as a beneficiary of the false citizenship documents that Wallenberg issued to Jews in Hungary, and later when he convinced Nazi guards not to gun down the 80,000 Jews left in the Budapest Ghetto at the end of World War II.
"My grandma was hiding in a burnt-out building, crammed into a small attic space with her fellow prisoners. She was 17. Her parents and five of her siblings never came home," he writes.[1]
Basketball career
High school
Grunfeld grew up in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, while his father was the GM of the New York Knicks. Due to this, Grunfeld grew up a die-hard Knicks fan, but was just an average player on his middle school team during the late 1990s. When his father became the Milwaukee Bucks GM, Grunfeld moved to Wisconsin. It was there that he developed his game and shot up in height.
In high school, he averaged 23.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game during his senior season at Nicolet High School.[4] He shot 61% from the floor.[4] That season, he was conference MVP, all-league first team, first team all-area (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel), first team all-state (Associated Press), CNI Suburban Player of the Year, and WCBA first team all-state.[4] He was also named by The Sporting News as the Best Shooter, out of more than 3,000 players.[4]
College
Grunfeld went on to play at Stanford University, where he had a successful college career. While playing for the Stanford Cardinal and leading the team in scoring (17.0 ppg; # 5 in the Pac-10), in February 2005 he tore his right knee anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), forcing him to sit out the team's final nine games. He took the time on the sidelines to "observe what certain people do to be successful," and improve his basketball awareness.[5] As a junior in 2004–05, he was named first team All-Pacific-10 Conference, to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District-14 first team, and to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American University Division Second Team, to the District-8 ESPN The Magazine University Division All-Academic First Team, and to the Pac-10 Academic first team.[4] In his senior year in 2005–06, he was a first-team Pac-10 All-Academic selection, and a first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American selection.[4]
Professional career
After going undrafted out of Stanford in 2006, he played his first two professional seasons with the EWE Baskets Oldenburg in the German Basketball Bundesliga, then with Aguas de Valencia Gandía in Spain's LEB Oro League. In September 2008, his childhood dream came true when the New York Knicks signed him to the team under undisclosed terms.[6] On October 23, 2008, Grunfeld was waived by the team.
Grunfeld played in the Maccabiah Games for the United States, in 2009.[10] He led the U.S. to a gold medal, with 25 points and 12 rebounds in the final overtime game against Israel.[10][12][13]
Post-Basketball Life
After retiring from basketball, Grunfeld received an MBA degree from Stanford University and began a career as a technology executive in Silicon Valley.[14] He also comments on social issues and politics.[15]
References
^. www.gooolsport.ro. Archived from the original on 23 January 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
Career statistics and player information from NBA.com
Eurobasket bio
(in Spanish)
March 10, 2023
grunfeld, daniel, leslie, grunfeld, hebrew, דן, גרונפלד, born, february, 1984, american, professional, basketball, player, last, played, small, forward, bnei, herzliya, israeli, basketball, premier, league, played, briefly, hapoel, holon, left, team, financial. Daniel Leslie Grunfeld Hebrew דן גרונפלד born February 7 1984 is an American professional basketball player who last played as a small forward for Bnei Herzliya in the Israeli Basketball Premier League He played briefly for Hapoel Holon but left the team due to its financial problems and signed a two year contract with Hapoel Jerusalem starting at the beginning of November 2011 Dan GrunfeldPersonal informationBorn 1984 02 07 February 7 1984 age 39 Franklin Lakes New JerseyNationalityAmerican Israeli Romanian 1 Listed height1 98 m 6 ft 6 in Listed weight83 kg 183 lb Career informationHigh schoolNicolet Glendale Wisconsin CollegeStanford 2002 2006 NBA draft2006 UndraftedPlaying career2006 presentPositionSmall forward Shooting guardNumber21Career history2006 2007EWE Baskets Oldenburg2007 2008Aguas de Valencia Gandia Basquet2008 2010CB Valladolid2010 2011Bnei Hasharon2011Hapoel Holon2011 2013Hapoel Jerusalem2013 2014Bnei HerzliyaCareer highlights and awardsFirst team All Pac 10 2005 Medals Representing United StatesBasketballMaccabiah Games2009 Maccabiah BasketballHe is the son of former New York Knicks guard and former Washington Wizards executive Ernie Grunfeld In high school he averaged 23 9 points per game and was the MVP of his conference In college at Stanford University he was first team All Pacific 10 Conference as a junior He has also played professionally for EWE Baskets Oldenburg Aguas de Valencia Gandia Basquet CB Valladolid and Bnei Hasharon Contents 1 Early life 2 Basketball career 2 1 High school 2 2 College 2 3 Professional career 3 Maccabiah Games 4 Post Basketball Life 5 References 6 External linksEarly life EditGrunfeld is Jewish 2 3 His grandmother is a Holocaust survivor whose life was saved twice by Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg once as a beneficiary of the false citizenship documents that Wallenberg issued to Jews in Hungary and later when he convinced Nazi guards not to gun down the 80 000 Jews left in the Budapest Ghetto at the end of World War II My grandma was hiding in a burnt out building crammed into a small attic space with her fellow prisoners She was 17 Her parents and five of her siblings never came home he writes 1 Basketball career EditHigh school Edit Grunfeld grew up in Franklin Lakes New Jersey while his father was the GM of the New York Knicks Due to this Grunfeld grew up a die hard Knicks fan but was just an average player on his middle school team during the late 1990s When his father became the Milwaukee Bucks GM Grunfeld moved to Wisconsin It was there that he developed his game and shot up in height In high school he averaged 23 9 points 7 1 rebounds and 2 0 assists per game during his senior season at Nicolet High School 4 He shot 61 from the floor 4 That season he was conference MVP all league first team first team all area Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first team all state Associated Press CNI Suburban Player of the Year and WCBA first team all state 4 He was also named by The Sporting News as the Best Shooter out of more than 3 000 players 4 College Edit Grunfeld went on to play at Stanford University where he had a successful college career While playing for the Stanford Cardinal and leading the team in scoring 17 0 ppg 5 in the Pac 10 in February 2005 he tore his right knee anterior cruciate ligament ACL forcing him to sit out the team s final nine games He took the time on the sidelines to observe what certain people do to be successful and improve his basketball awareness 5 As a junior in 2004 05 he was named first team All Pacific 10 Conference to the National Association of Basketball Coaches NABC District 14 first team and to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All American University Division Second Team to the District 8 ESPN The Magazine University Division All Academic First Team and to the Pac 10 Academic first team 4 In his senior year in 2005 06 he was a first team Pac 10 All Academic selection and a first team ESPN The Magazine Academic All American selection 4 Professional career Edit After going undrafted out of Stanford in 2006 he played his first two professional seasons with the EWE Baskets Oldenburg in the German Basketball Bundesliga then with Aguas de Valencia Gandia in Spain s LEB Oro League In September 2008 his childhood dream came true when the New York Knicks signed him to the team under undisclosed terms 6 On October 23 2008 Grunfeld was waived by the team In January 2009 he received Romanian citizenship in order to be eligible for playing for the Romania national basketball team 7 He played for Bnei Hasharon in the Israeli Basketball Super League in 2010 11 averaging 14 1 points per game on 56 9 shooting 8 9 In 2010 he made aliyah becoming an Israeli citizen 10 In July 2011 he signed a two year deal with Israel s Hapoel Holon 11 Due to the team s financial problems at the beginning of the 2011 season he was released and signed a two year contract with Hapoel Jerusalem He is one of a number of American Jews who played in Israel including Jon Scheyer Sylven Landesberg Glenn Consor and David Blu 2 Maccabiah Games EditGrunfeld played in the Maccabiah Games for the United States in 2009 10 He led the U S to a gold medal with 25 points and 12 rebounds in the final overtime game against Israel 10 12 13 Post Basketball Life EditAfter retiring from basketball Grunfeld received an MBA degree from Stanford University and began a career as a technology executive in Silicon Valley 14 He also comments on social issues and politics 15 References Edit Jucător din NBA in naţionala Romaniei GooolSport www gooolsport ro Archived from the original on 23 January 2009 Retrieved 30 June 2022 a b http nbcsports msnbc com id 43940730 ns sports dead link Colman Zack July 23 2009 US grabs hoops gold over Israel in OT thriller Jerusalem Post Archived from the original on November 7 2012 Retrieved November 6 2011 a b c d e f Player Bio Dan Grunfeld Stanford University s Official Athletic Site www gostanford com Archived from the original on 14 June 2012 Retrieved 12 January 2022 Anderson Kelli November 21 2005 14 Stanford Sports Illustrated Retrieved October 5 2008 Knicks Sign Dan Grunfeld NBA com September 25 2008 Retrieved October 5 2008 Jucător din NBA in naţionala Romaniei GooolSport www gooolsport ro Archived from the original on January 23 2009 Dan Grunfeld Player Profile Bnei Hertzeliya News Stats Eurobasket החתמה חדשה permanent dead link in Hebrew a b c Basketball Son of Washington Wizards exec to join Bnei Hasharon next week TheMarker Stanford s Dan Grunfeld Switches Teams in Israel LostLettermen com www lostlettermen com Archived from the original on 23 July 2011 Retrieved 12 January 2022 As Maccabiah closes U S Men win hoops gold JTA Jewish amp Israel News www jta org Archived from the original on 29 September 2012 Retrieved 12 January 2022 Basketball U S Overcomes Israel to take gold on late surge TheMarker Americans must remember the Holocaust The Jerusalem Post Jpost com Retrieved 2020 02 02 Dan Grunfeld HuffPost www huffpost com Retrieved 2020 02 02 External links EditCareer statistics and player information from NBA com Eurobasket bio ACB com profile in Spanish Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dan Grunfeld amp oldid 1142434092, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
