Background
Eliyahu is Jewish, and was born in Ramat Gan, Israel. Eliyahu grew up in the youth system of Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan, but moved to Galil for the 2004-2005 season, in order to further his career.
Eliyahu is Jewish, and was born in Ramat Gan, Israel. Eliyahu grew up in the youth system of Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan, but moved to Galil for the 2004-2005 season, in order to further his career.
He is 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) in height and he weighs 105 kg (225 pounds). He plays at the power forward position. The Minnesota Timberwolves own his National Basketball Association Draft rights.
The move paid off when, under the guidance of Oded Katash, Eliyahu made great strides in improving his game.
After the 2005-2006 season, Eliyahu entered the 2006 National Basketball Association Draft, a move criticized by Hanoch Mintz, Eliyahu"s coach during his time in Ramat Gan. In pre-draft camps in Europe, Eliyahu impressed along with fellow Israeli Yotam Halperin and when the camp was finished in Treviso, Italy, both had dramatically climbed the mock draft charts.
On June 28, 2006, he made national headlines in Israel by being selected by the Orlando Magic with the 44th pick of the 2006 National Basketball Association Draft. He also impressed during matches of Maccabi against National Basketball Association teams.
During the Euroleague 2006-2007 season, Eliyahu averaged 10.8 points per game.
In December 2008, Eliyahu became the first Israeli to be named the Euroleague Most Valuable Player of the Month during the season. He recorded a double double in all three games he played during December. Overall for the 2008-2009 Euroleague season, Eliyahu averaged 14.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
In September 2010 he returned to Maccabi Tel Aviv, signing a five-year contract.
On June 26, 2012, the Minnesota Timberwolves traded the 18th overall pick of the 2012 National Basketball Association Draft to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Chase Budinger and the draft rights to Eliyahu. In November 2013, he signed a three-year deal with Hapoel Jerusalem.
He played at the EuroBasket 2007, the EuroBasket 2009 and the EuroBasket 2011.
Eliyahu has also been a member of the senior Israeli national basketball team