According to HoopsHype, former Miami Heat forward Chris Silva has agreed to a contract with an Israeli basketball club named Bnei Herzliya. The club is a member of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.
Prior to his decision to continue his professional basketball career in Israel, Silva had a big role for the College Park Skyhawks, the Atlanta Hawks’ G League affiliate, during the 2023-24 season. After his season in the G League ended, he spent some time playing in Puerto Rico.
In 25 appearances with the Skyhawks during the G League’s regular season, Silva averaged 17.0 points per contest on 52.5 percent shooting from the field along with 8.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.1 blocks per game.
The 27-year-old put up similarly impressive numbers during the Skyhawks’ stint in the G League Showcase Cup. He averaged the second-most points per game (17.2) of any player on the team and also led the squad in free throws made per contest (3.5).
Silva got his first opportunity to play in the NBA with the Heat during the 2019-20 regular season. He appeared in 44 games and averaged 3.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.5 blocks per game in his maiden NBA season for an iteration of the Heat that went on to reach the NBA Finals.
But after playing 44 games as a rookie, he found it tougher to get playing time in the NBA in the following years. The Heat traded him away during his sophomore season, and he started bouncing around the league after that, even ending up back with Miami at one point.
He saw action for the Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks during the journey. He hasn’t played in an NBA game since the 2022-23 season, when he logged one appearance for the Mavericks.
Only will tell if Silva will be able to carry his success from the G League into the Israeli Basketball Premier League in the 2024-25 season, but considering how well he scored the ball with the Hawks’ G League affiliate last season, it’s hard to imagine that he won’t receive consistent playing time with Bnei Herzliya.
