Sylven Landesberg

Sylven Joshua Landesberg (; born April 10, 1990) is an American-Israeli-Austrian professional basketball player for Klosterneuburg Dukes in the Austrian Basketball Superliga. Standing at , he plays at the shooting guard and small forward positions.

He was a 2008 McDonald's High School All American and 2008 New York State Mr. Basketball in high school, and 2008–09 ACC Freshman of the Year for the University of Virginia Cavaliers. He played for Maccabi Haifa in Israel from 2010 to 2012, and with Maccabi Tel Aviv from 2012 to 2017, winning the EuroLeague in 2014.

High school career In his sophomore year at Holy Cross High School in Flushing, New York, he averaged 20.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists a game during 2005–06.

During the 2008–09 season, in his freshman year, he averaged 16.6 points (third-best for a freshman in UVA history), 6.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists a game.

On March 6, 2010, Landesberg was suspended for the remaining game of the season for failing to meet academic obligations. On March 23, it was announced that Landesberg would not return to the Cavaliers.

College statistics

Professional career

Early years (2010–2012) After going undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft, Landesberg played for the Sacramento Kings in the 2010 NBA Summer League.

On July 25, 2010, Landesberg signed a two-year deal with the Israeli team Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Super League. Due to the fact his father is Jewish, Landesberg received Israeli citizenship. He played his first season for the team in 2010–11. "Hopefully, I'll make it to the NBA, but I will definitely never forget my time in Israel no matter where I go. It is a huge part of my growing up," he said.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (2012–2017)

On July 4, 2012, he signed a three-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv. In the first two seasons with the team, he saw very little playing time. In the 2013–14 season, his team won the EuroLeague by defeating Real Madrid in an overtime 98–86 victory.

During the summer of 2014, after departure of some key players, his role in the team and minutes on the court increased. On October 5, in a pre-season game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he led his team in scoring with 23 points, also having 5 rebounds, 3 assists and steals. The Cleveland Cavaliers eventually won the game with 107–80.

On November 20, he scored a season-high 22 points and added 9 rebounds in a EuroLeague game against Limoges CSP. On January 23, against Žalgiris Kaunas he scored 20 points. Maccabi, the defending EuroLeague champion, lost to Fenerbahçe in the quarterfinal series with 3–0.

On April 21, 2015, he signed a new three-year contract with a fourth year option with Maccabi.

Estudiantes (2017–2018) On August 1, 2017, Landesberg signed with Spanish club Movistar Estudiantes for the 2017–18 season. On 1 April 2018, Landesberg recorded a career-high 48 points, shooting 8-of-11 from three-point range, in a 100–95 win over FC Barcelona. On May 24, 2018, Landesberg was named All-Liga ACB First Team and finished in the fifth place in voting for the Liga ACB MVP of the season. In 30 Liga ACB games, he averaged 20.1 points, 4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

Türk Telekom (2018–2019) On June 22, 2018, Landesberg signed with the Turkish team Türk Telekom for the 2018–19 season. On May 12, 2019, Landesberg recorded a season-high 43 points, shooting 14-of-21 from the field, along with six rebounds in a 96–83 win over Banvit. In 42 games played in the EuroCup and Turkish competitions, he averaged 19.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2 assists per game. Landesberg helped Türk Telekom reach the 2019 BSL Playoffs, where they eventually were eliminated by Fenerbahçe in the Quarterfinals.

Zhejiang Golden Bulls (2019–2021) On July 14, 2019, Landesberg signed with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association. He averaged 26.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in 2019–2020. On September 17, 2020, Landesburg re-signed with the team.

Beijing Royal Fighters (2021–2022) On December 30, 2021, Landesberg signed with the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Austria national team On November 9, 2018, Landesberg was named a member of the Austria national basketball team for the EuroBasket 2021 qualification.

On November 29, 2018, Landesberg recorded 49 points in his debut, scoring 40 points in the first half. He also added ten rebounds, five assists and two steals, leading the Austrian team to a 96–82 win over Great Britain. Later his record was corrected to 47 points.

Personal life Landesberg is Jewish, and was born in Brooklyn to an Austrian-Jewish father, Steven, and a Trinidadian and Tobagonian mother, Ingrid. He holds an Israeli and Austrian passports.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

† Denotes seasons in which Landesberg won the EuroLeague