Halperin is Jewish,[3] and was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. He played in the Maccabi Tel Aviv youth team and won two Israeli Youth League titles (2000–01, 2001–02). Simultaneously, He led his high school basketball team into winning the national title.
Professional career
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Halperin with Maccabi, 2004
Halperin debuted in Maccabi senior team at the age of 17 in a EuroLeague game against Alba Berlin.[4] In his first years with Maccabi, Yotam barely recorded minutes, coming off the bench for stars such as Ariel McDonald and Šarūnas Jasikevičius. In his first three seasons he averaged 12.3 minutes per game in the Israeli BSL.
Halperin has won the 2003–04 Euroleague title with Maccabi. He scored 7 points and passed 4 assists in the final against Skipper Bologna.
The team were able to win the 2004–05 Euroleague as well, but Halperin didn't have a major part in the success.
Union Olimpija
On August 31, 2005, Yotam signed a one-year contract with Slovenian League Champions Union Olimpija. Maccabi agreed to release Halperin, in order for him to gain experience at the EuroLeague level.[5] Halperin immediately took a leading role in the team, averaging 13.9 points in 36 minutes per game during the 2005–06 Euroleague, but the team failed to reach the Top 16.
After his breakout season with Union Olimpija, Halperin declared himself as available for the 2006 NBA draft. The NBA Mock draft websites did not project him to be drafted at all.[citation needed] Despite the earlier predictions, Halperin was selected in the second round (53rd pick overall) by the Seattle SuperSonics.
Return To Maccabi Tel Aviv
After failing to gain a guaranteed contract in the NBA, Yotam signed a three-year deal with his former club Maccabi Tel Aviv.[6] He fulfilled a bigger role in the team's rotation compared to his first term with the Maccabi, averaging more than 24 minutes per game and starting in 13 out of 19 games during the 2006–07 Euroleague Season.
Before the 2010–11 season Olympiacos has placed Yotam in the inactive list, and ordered his agent to find him a new team.[9] After his agent wasn't able to locate a team that agreed to carry Halperin's heavy contract, Olympiacos head coach Dušan Ivković agreed to give the player a second chance at the roster. eventually, he stayed in Olympiacos for the rest of the season.
Spartak Saint Petersburg
On June 20, 2011, Maccabi Tel Aviv announced the return of Halperin, who signed a contract for three years.[10] Almost a month later, Maccabi has announced cancellation of the contract due to taxation problems.[11]
Yotam was released from Spartak at the end of the season.[15]
Bayern Munich
On July 17, 2012, Yotam signed a one-year contract with Bayern Munich of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). He finished a disappointing season with Bayern, averaging only 6.3 point per game.
Hapoel Jerusalem
Halperin with Hapoel Jerusalem, 2015
Despite rumors of being close to Maccabi Tel Aviv,[16] Yotam made a shock signing with their rIvals Hapoel Jerusalem for three years.[17][18]
From his first season he became the team captain. In 2013–14 Halperin averaged 11.7 points in EuroCup and reached with his team the quarterfinals of the competition. In 2014–15 season he led Hapoel Jerusalem to its first Israeli League championship.[19]
On August 21, 2018, Halperin announced his retirement from playing professional basketball.[20][21]
Israeli national team
Halperin was a member of the Israel national U-21 team leading the team to the second place of the 2004 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. Yotam finished as the 2nd best scorer with an average of 20.4 points per game. He was also selected to the All-Tournament Team.[22]
After retiring as a player, Halperin was hired as the Sporting Director for Hapoel Jerusalem in 2018. He served in this post until he was hired as the team's new interim head coach following the firing of Oren Amiel in 2021.[1]
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