But a heavy burden fell on Israeli basketball. Willie Sims, who played for about two decades in Israel and even starred for Maccabi Tel Aviv, passed away today (Friday) at the age of 64. As you may remember, about four months ago Sims had a heart attack, and since then he fought for his life until his death today.
Sims, one of the greatest foreigners who played in Israeli basketball, arrived in Israel in 1981, when he signed with Maccabi Haifa. After that he also moved to Hapoel Tel Aviv (1983-1985) and Elizur Netanya (1985-1987), who was signed by Maccabi Tel Aviv in the summer of 1987. In the yellow ranks he won five championships and three cups, and twice qualified for the European Cup final. In 1992, he moved to Hapoel Eilat, where he played for four years, and finished his career with Maccabi Hadera. After that she continued to live in Israel. His daughter, Daniel Sims, is married to the Israel national team coordinator Gal Mekel.