Omri Casspi

Omri Casspi is an Israeli professional basketball player currently signed as a small forward for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born on June 22, 1988 in Holon, Israel.

Casspi made his professional basketball debut with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Super league (BSL) in 2005. He signed with another Israeli basketball team Hapoel Galil Elyon in 2006 before returning to Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2007. In 2008, Casspi helped Maccabi Tel Aviv reach the Euroleague Finals, where they were defeated by CSKA Moscow. He was also instrumental in helping Maccabi reach the BSL Finals where they were also defeated by Hapoel Holon. Casspi was awarded the BSL Sixth Player of the Season and finished fourth in the voting for the FIBA Europe Young Men's Player of the Year Award for the 2008 season.

Casspi had declared himself eligible for the 2008 NBA Draft, but later withdrew after failing to receive a first-round draft guarantee. In 2009, he again declared for the NBA Draft and was selected at the first round, with the 23rd overall pick by the Sacramento Kings. He subsequently became the first Israeli to play in an NBA game.

Casspi was born in Holon, but grew up in Yavne. As a child he played for Elitzur Yavne B.C. and Maccabi Rishon LeZion. When he was 15 he moved to the youth team of Maccabi Tel Aviv, winning the Youth State Championship in 2005. Simultaneously he played for his high school basketball team.

Professional Career

Israel

He made his professional debut at age 17 with Maccabi Tel Aviv during the 2005-06 season. He joined Hapoel Galil Elyon on-loan during the 2006-07 season, and was one of its leading players, winning the "Discovery of the Year" award in the end of the season. In April 2007 he scored 14 points for the World Select team at the Nike Hoop Summit in Memphis.

He returned to Maccabi in 2007, and became part of the team rotation for the following seasons, reaching Euroleague Finals in 2008, winning a state championship in 2009, as well as receiving the 2008 Israeli League Sixth Man of the Year Award.

On February 18, 2009, Casspi finished in fourth place in voting for the FIBA Europe Young Men's Player of the Year Award for the 2008-2009 season, behind Ricky Rubio, Danilo Gallinari, and Kosta Koufos.

NBA

In a pre-season exhibition game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on October 11, 2007, Casspi started the game and shot three-for-three from the floor, including a three-pointer, for eight points in only sixteen minutes of playing-time.

In 2008, Casspi declared himself eligible for the 2008 NBA Draft, but he withdrew before the declaration deadline after failing to receive a first-round draft guarantee from any NBA club.

In 2009, Casspi again declared himself available for the draft, and was drafted 23rd overall by the Sacramento Kings. He became the first Israeli player selected as a first round draft pick. Not since Oded Kattash agreed to a contract with the New York Knicks in 1999 has an Israeli player come so close to playing in the NBA. In July Omri Casspi signed a 3-year 3.5 million dollar contract with the Sacramento Kings.

On October 28, 2009, Casspi made his debut NBA performance for the Kings against Oklahoma City, scoring 15 points.

In a game against the Memphis Grizzlies, he symbolically shook hands with Hamed Haddadi, the first Iranian in the NBA.

On December 17, 2009, Casspi made his first NBA start. Scoring 22 points against the Washington Wizards, he tied the most points scored by any Kings player in his first start since the team moved to Sacramento in 1985.