Ryan Turell #11 of Yeshiva cheers with his team before playing against Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the first half during the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship – First Round at Goldfarb Gymnasium on at Johns Hopkins University on March 6, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) Ryan Turell, the 23-year old 6’6” Valley Village, Calif. basketball guard, was drafted 27th overall in the 1st round of the 2022 G League draft by the Motor City Cruise, the Detroit Piston’s NBA G League affiliate. Turell will become the first Orthodox Jewish player in the G League or an NBA franchise team. He will begin his professional career with the Cruise on Nov. 4.
“I’m thrilled to become a member of the Detroit Pistons organization and play for the Motor City Cruise,” Turell said in a statement. “This is a dream come true for me, but it is only the start. The goal is to make the NBA. I appreciate the love and support of Jews worldwide that are rooting for me. It feels like we’re in this together.”
Turell, who attended Valley Torah High School and Yeshiva University (YU), set scoring records throughout his tenure playing for the schools. Last season he led the YU Maccabees on a 50-game win streak that caught the attention of professional basketball teams, basketball scouts and fans nationwide.
While YU is a Division 3 ranked school and virtually all pro basketball organizations draft from high-profile Division 1 universities, Turell decided to stay true to his Jewish faith by continuing his Jewish education at YU. Although he received full-scholarship offers from Division 1 universities, he ultimately selected YU, telling his parents, “If I am not going to continue my Jewish education, then why did you send me to Jewish schools all these years?”
Turell plans to navigate a pro basketball career while adhering to Orthodoxy. He has said he plans to observe the Sabbath by walking to arenas for games that are scheduled on Shabbat and will adhere to a strict kosher diet.
“It’s part of who I am,” Turell said to the Journal. “That is most important.”
According to Turell, his biggest fans are his parents, as they said in a statement, “The best part of all this is how much the Jewish community is rooting for Ryan’s success, how proud we all are of him and how much joy his journey is bringing to so many people.”
The G League is the NBA minor league affiliate where players, coaches and trainers develop their skills for a chance to play for an NBA team.
Turell is represented by mega sports agency Excel Sports Management. “We are excited that the first step in Ryan’s NBA journey will be in Detroit,” Sam Goldfeder, one of Turell’s agents, said. “Ryan’s basketball path to this moment in time has not come easy. It took a lot of faith, grit, determination and hard work, which happens to be the characteristics that the Pistons have always shown. Ryan is healthy, happy, eager and ready to contribute to a winning season.”
Turell was the leading scorer in YU history with 2,158 points in basically three full years of playing (COVID-19 created one seven-game season).
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