Former NBA superstar Amar'e Stoudemire to receive Israeli citizenship

JERUSALEM, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Former American NBA star Amar'e Stoudemire, currently playing for Israeli basketball club of Hapoel Jerusalem, will receive the Israeli citizenship, the state's Minister of Interior Aryeh Deri announced on Tuesday.

Stoudemire submitted an application for citizenship on February 10 this year, about two weeks after he was approved as a resident of Israel.

Minister Deri explained his decision, saying that "Stoudemire's sports contribution is not in dispute, he is one of the greatest athletes to play in Israel. He wants to tie his fate with Israel.

"As a result, I recently decided to grant him residency status, and today I am announcing the granting of citizenship status in accordance with the authority given to me in the citizenship Law," he said.

Stoudemire, 36, played in NBA since 2002 with the Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat.

In 2016 he joined Hapoel Jerusalem, where he played for one season, and returned to the team last summer.