---
title: "Dmytro Skapintsev leaves Hapoel: reasons for contract termination and season statistics"
description: "🏀 Dmytro Skapintsev leaves Hapoel! 🇮🇱 The club did not renew the contract due to a change of coach and new criteria. The 28-year-old center is now a free agent. 📊 In a year in Israel — 34 games, 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds on average. #basketball #Skapintsev #Hapoel"
date: 2026-07-14T19:52:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/dmytro-skapintsev-leaves-hapoel-reasons-for-contract-termination-and-season-statistics
tags: [skapintsev, hapoel, ukraine-basketball, nba, israel-basketball]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Dmytro Skapintsev leaves Hapoel: reasons for contract termination and season statistics

Dmytro Skapintsev, center of the Ukrainian national team, has officially ended his cooperation with Jerusalem's Hapoel. The Israeli club decided not to extend the basketball player's contract for the next season. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine citing an official statement from the team.

### End of contract: why Hapoel refused to extend

The Ukrainian player joined the team in the summer of 2025. At that time, the parties signed an agreement on a "1+1" scheme, however, the club's management decided not to activate the option to extend for another year.

The main reasons for this step are cited as a change of coach and a new development vector for the project. The management of Hapoel determined new criteria for the roster, which the 28-year-old center, 2.16 meters tall, did not meet. Now Skapintsev is in the status of a free agent and is looking for a new club to continue his career.

### Season statistics: figures and facts

In a year at the Jerusalem club, Dmytro managed to show himself in various tournaments. In total, he played 34 matches in all competitions, including the Israeli Championship, the national Cup, and European cups.

In the Israeli Championship, his average indicators were:

- 5.5 points per game;

- 3.5 rebounds;

- 0.5 assists;

- 13.5 minutes of playing time.

In European cups, the Ukrainian averaged 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per 10 minutes on the court.

### Career outside Israel

Dmytro Skapintsev is one of the leaders of the Ukrainian national team and has experience playing in the strongest league in the world. In December 2023, the center made his NBA debut with the New York Knicks, for whom he played 2 official games. Later, he also participated in pre-season games for the Boston Celtics.

The termination of the contract with Hapoel was a notable event in Ukrainian basketball. Earlier, it became known that Madrid's Real announced the termination of the contract with another Ukrainian player. Also, a new participant appeared in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague, which speaks to the dynamic development of the national championship.