"We are ambassadors of good will," coach Sinclair tells 'The Jerusalem Post'.
By ALLON SINAIglobetrotters 224.88(photo credit: Courtesy)
The Harlem Globetrotters will make their long awaited return to Israel on Tuesday night at the Nokia Arena.
The Globetrotters, who last appeared in Israel in 1990, will perform on Tuesday and Thursday in Tel Aviv in the first leg of their Mediterranean tour, which will also see them visit the 120th country in their eight-decade history when they showcase their unique brand of family entertainment in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"We are ambassadors of good will and it means the world to us to have the opportunity to be Globetrotters," coach Clyde Sinclair, now in his 20th season with the Globetrotters' organization, told The Jerusalem Post.
Created by Abe Saperstein in 1926 in Chicago, the team adopted the name Harlem because of its connotations as a major African-American community.
After losing to the Washington Generals in 1962, the Harlem Globetrotters lost only two more games in the next 38 years, a span of 12,596 games.
On January 5, 1971, they lost in overtime to the New Jersey Reds; the 100-99 score ended an alleged 2,495-game winning streak (which meant that the Globetrotters were playing 277 games per year up until that date).
In addition to their hundreds of exhibition games, the Globetrotters have faced some competitive action since the mid-1990s.
On September 12, 1995, they lost 91-85 to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's All Star Team in Vienna, ending an alleged run of 8,829 straight victories going back to 1971.
They immediately went on another winning streak of 1,270 before losing 72-68 to the Michigan State University Spartans on November 13, 2000.
On February 27, 2006, the Globetrotters extended their overall record to exactly 22,000 wins.
Their most recent loss came on March 31, 2006, when they went down 87-83 to the NABC College All-Stars to bring their loss tally to just 345 - a winning percentage of 98.4%.
The Globetrotters claim all their exhibition games are "real, competitive" contests.
Sinclair, who was a player on the team that visited Israel 18 years ago, is in his fourth year as a coach and prior to guiding the side was an outstanding guard and considered one of the Globetrotters' best defenders and finesse players.
One of the current side's leading players is "Special K" Daley. The 32-year-old has been a Globetrotter for five years and is looking forward to thrilling the fans in Tel Aviv.
"It means a lot to be part of this team. It's an honor to wear the same jersey as so many greats," Daley said.
"We travel the world but haven't been to Israel since 1990, so we're really looking ahead to entertaining the fans in Israel."
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