Nate Robinson’s latest challenge: Shirtless Israeli dudes on bikes
Nate Robinson’s having a lot of fun during his trip to Israel, you guys. Not only is the 10-year NBA veteran and three-time Slam Dunk champion already dropping 20-plus points and splashing through Steph-distance 3s for Hapoel Tel Aviv, the Israeli club he joined last week, but he’s also making some really fun new friends!
The 31-year-old Robinson was sitting down for an interview with Israel’s Sport5 that aired Monday when, all of a sudden, up rolled a gentleman — literally, as he approached on a bike, with no shirt on — interested not only in meeting Hapoel’s latest import, but in laying down a challenge to a game of one-on-one.
“Now that’s an interview,” said Robinson after the hit-and-run cyclist pedaled off screen. “That’s an interview. Awesome. First time ever somebody’s done that. Sick. So cool. Fans are great! How can you be mad at that?”
According to Ilan Ben Zion of The Times of Israel, Nate’s admirer/challenger, who introduced himself as Raz Nisim Cohen, isn’t just a random dude in good shape:
The 6″2 Cohen, it turns out, played a single season of professional basketball in 2012-13, scoring a total of five points in six games as a guard with Second League team Ironi Ashkelon.
Despite his lackluster career, he made headlines last year for challenging a battery of professional Israeli basketball players to face off against him. Notable among them was Hapoel Jerusalem’s Donta Smith, whom he challenged to a game of one-on-one for $5,000 in a vulgarity-laced video. […]
“I beat [NBA alum Jordan] Farmar, [Yogev] Ohayon, I beat everyone on Maccabi [Tel Aviv],” Cohen boasted to Robinson, naming some top stars who have played in the local league.
“That’s Farmar, that’s not me,” Robinson retorted.
While Robinson didn’t seem particularly thrilled about the close encounter — “I’ll bust his ass,” he told his interviewer — he at least remained a good enough sport to take a picture with Cohen after their meeting:
“That moment in life when you meet one of the most brilliant basketball players in the history of the NBA, and the shortest of them to ever play,” Cohen wrote in the caption of the photo, which he shared on Facebook, according to The Times of Israel.
Robinson might be a good sport, but if I were Mr. Cohen, I wouldn’t presume too much about Nate’s good nature. Keep pushing the little fella and you’re liable to find yourself on the receiving end of either a deluge of buckets … and, if he’s in the mood to get back to training for his hoped-for career change, perhaps a nice crisp form tackle, too.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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