101 Greats of European Basketball

(23 points), Bruce Flowers (21), Pierluigi Marzorati (18)
and Antonello Riva (16).
Mike Karnon, the excellent former press chief at Maccabi,
describes Silver as “an all-around player, very clever
with a great understanding of the game. He was known
for his unique double-handed, over-the-head jump shot.”
Karnon also offers some gems for the data lovers
direct from his own documentation: In his ten seasons in
Tel Aviv, Sliver scored 3,035 points in 196 Israeli League
games (15.4 ppg.) and 1,999 points in 138 European
games (14.4 ppg.). Silver also played 66 games for the
national team, in which he scored 961 points (14.5 ppg.).
About Silver’s personality, Karnon adds: “Silver, a
soft-spoken man, always preferred to remain behind
the scenes and away from the media. On the other
hand, he was a tough customer when it came to negotiating
his contract. During his days with Maccabi, he
studied at Tel Aviv University School of Law, graduating
with a bachelor’s degree, and later got a Master of Law
degree from New York University School of Law.”
Great tribute
After having retired, in July of 1987, Silver received
a great tribute. Maccabi played against a European allstar
team with Drazen Petrovic, Nikos Galis, Richard
Dacoury, Panagiotis Giannakis, Stanislav Kropilak and
Antonello Riva, among others. Europe won 108-87 but
the only important thing that night was the farewell to a
great player loved by the fans.
At the start of the 2013-14 season, before a game
between Maccabi and Crvena Zvezda, in a small but emotional
ceremony in the middle of the court, Silver received
standing ovations once more as a new member of the Maccabi
Hall of Fame. His great teammate Boatwright, who had
died earlier that year, also received posthumous honors.
After retiring as a player, Lou Silver turned his head
to business, making good use of his education as a
banking and finance expert. Nowadays he is a businessman
and attorney, as well as a director in several
other companies, and moves between London and
New York.
101 greats of european basketball
Lou Silver
S