INDEPENDENCE, Ohio - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached out to Cavaliers coach David Blatt last week, promising the support of about 8 million of his fellow countrymen.

"He said all of Israel is behind the Cavaliers," Blatt said Sunday. "That was great.

Blatt has dual citizenship in the United States (where he was born) and in Israel, where his family still lives and where he spent most his pro career as a player and coach.

Blatt said Netanyahu contacted him last week to congratulate him for steering the Cavs to the NBA Finals, where Blatt could become the first Israeli citizen to win an NBA title as a coach or player.

And it's not the first time Blatt has gotten a call from one of the world's most powerful political leaders.

Blatt told the Northeast Ohio Media Group he knows Netanyahu well enough to call him "Bibi" (his nickname) but usually sticks to the Hebrew translation of "Mr. Prime Minister." He said Netanyahu last reached out to him after he directed Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Euroleague title last year.

"I have been fortunate enough to hear from the Prime Minister of Israel, to the then Prime Minister and president of Russia (Dmitry Medvedev), and there's nothing I would like better than to hear from (President Barack) Obama," Blatt said. "That sort of covered all the bases, wouldn't it?"

In 2012, Blatt coached the Russian Olympic team to a bronze medal at the Summer Games in London.

The discussion of Blatt and Netanyahu arose after Sunday's practice when a reporter mentioned to Blatt that major American professional and collegiate sports champions often hear from the president. Blatt interrupted the reporter, so as to avoid getting a question about the prospects of speaking with Obama (and therefor predicting a Cavs' victory in the Finals). He acquiesced when Netanyahu was mentioned specifically.

Early Monday morning, a Prime Minister's Office official confirmed in an email to the Northeast Ohio Media Group that Netanyahu and Blatt "had a very warm conversation" last week.

"The Prime Minister congratulated David and invited him to pay him a visit the next time he is in Israel," the official said. "The Prime Minister also invited the Cavs to come to Israel to play against the Prime Minister's Office basketball team."

An email to the press office of Israel's ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer, was also not returned.

According to a Cavs spokesman, Blatt dined with Dermer in Washington before one of Cleveland's two games there against the Wizards during the regular season.

The story of Blatt, 56, who would become the first rookie coach to win an NBA championship since Pat Riley in 1982, is being followed closely in Israel and by American Jews.

Last week, the English-language Israeli news site Haaretz.com published an op-ed praising Blatt for his success with the Cavs and lamenting the criticism heaped upon him when he coached Maccabi Tel Aviv.

It so happens that Blatt has faced myriad criticism in the U.S., as he struggled to reach superstar LeBron James early during the season and the Cavs limped to a 19-20 start.

In the immediate aftermath of the Cavs' victory in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals last week, which clinched a spot in the Finals, the Israeli-American Council in New York released a statement calling Blatt an "Israeli-American role model."

"On behalf of all Israeli Americans in the United States, we congratulate David Blatt, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the City of Cleveland on their thrilling victory as Eastern Conference champions of the NBA," said Shawn Evenhaim, chairman of the Israeli-American Council, in a news release. "David is an Israeli-American success story - a true leader and role model who symbolizes our love for both Israel and the U.S."