NAZARETH, Israel — Long before he was a professional basketball player in Israel’s most prestigious league, Karam Mashour honed his game on one of the only courts in this city: the tiny alleyway between his parents’ house and his grandmother’s. The narrow sliver of concrete and portable hoop came with very specific challenges — duck low if you want to dribble to the right but avoid a collision with the electrical box jutting out from the window, for example — yet Mashour never dwelled on the setting.
There was no point, mostly because there was no alternative.
“Everyone here plays football,” Mashour said.