(JTA) – Amar’e Stoudemire, the former NBA star and Israeli team owner, who converted to Orthodox Judaism in August, is still settling into his new job as an assistant player development coach for the Brooklyn Nets. One fact that is helping him get comfortable: The team is not forcing him to work on Shabbat, which he observes. Writing about Stoudemire and his new gig in December, Marc Stein of The New York Times reported that the team was still working through how to deal with the star’s request about the Jewish Sabbath. Stein wrote that Stoudemire was having a little trouble adjusting to being called a “coach” while not being officially retired as a player. Last year Stoudemire played for Maccabi Tel Aviv and helped the Israeli club win a championship in the country’s top league. On Monday, Stein tweeted that the team has agreed to Stoudemire’s ask. “[T]he Nets are granting Shabbat off to Stoudemire every week – Friday sundown through Saturday sundown,” Stein wrote. Stoudemire, once an All-Star for the Phoenix Suns, detailed his Jewish journey in recent talk with the UJA-Federation of New York.

Main Photo: Amar’e Stoudemire attends the Pegasus World Cup Championship horse racing event in Hallandale Beach, Fla., Jan. 23, 2021. (Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for The Stronach Group)