Sacramento Kings – No. 18 | |
Small Forward | |
Born | June 22, 1988 Holon, Israel |
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Nationality | Israeli |
Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
League | NBA |
Salary | $1,167,000 |
Draft | 23rd overall, 2009 Sacramento Kings |
Pro career | 2005–present |
Former teams | Maccabi Tel Aviv (2005-06) Hapoel Galil Elyon (2006-07) Maccabi Tel Aviv (2007-09) |
Awards | Euroleague cup: 2005 BSL Champion: 2005, 2006, 2009 BSL State Cup: 2005 BSL Sixth Man of the Year: 2008 |
Profile | Info Page |
Omri Casspi (Hebrew: עומרי כספי, born June 22, 1988 in Israel) is a professional Israeli basketball player who was drafted 23rd overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by Sacramento Kings, making him the first Israeli to be selected in the first round of the draft. He is 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 m) tall and plays at the small forward position. Upon his debut with the Kings in 2009, Casspi became the first Israeli to play in an NBA game.[1]
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Early life
Casspi was born in Holon and grew up in Yavne. He is the son of Simon and Eilana, and has an older brother, Paul, and a younger sister, Aviv.[2]
As a child Casspi played for Elitzur Yavne B.C. and Maccabi Rishon LeZion. When he was 15 he moved to the Maccabi Tel Aviv youth team, winning the State Youth 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.[3]
He returned to Maccabi in 2007, and became part of the team rotation for the following seasons, reaching the 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.[4]
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.[5]
In 2009, Casspi again declared himself available for the draft, and was drafted 23rd overall by the Sacramento Kings.[6] 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.[7] In July Omri Casspi signed a 3 year contract worth $3.5 million.
On October 28, 2009, Casspi made his NBA debut for the Kings against Oklahoma City, scoring 15 points.[8]
In a game against the Memphis Grizzlies, he shook hands with Hamed Haddadi, the first Iranian in the NBA.
On December 16, 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.[9]
On January 1, 2010, Casspi scored a career high 23 points against the Los Angeles Lakers (along with 6 rebounds, 1 steal and 3 assists) as the Kings lost 108-109.
On January 2, 2010, he grabbed a career high 11 rebounds against the Dallas Mavericks (along with 22 points, 1 steal and 4 assists) as the Kings lost 99-91.
On January 5, 2010, Casspi set a new career high with 24 points against the Phoenix Suns (along with 7 rebounds, 1 assist, no turnovers, and 10-19 from the field) as the Kings lost 113-109.
In 2010, Casspi was chosen to participate in the NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge, as well as the NBA All-Star Weekend H–O–R–S–E Competition against Kevin Durant and Rajon Rondo.
Statistics
European career statistics
Regular season
Season | Team | GP | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005/2006 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 21 | 9.4 | 2.1 | .9 | .5 | .1 | 4.2 |
2006/2007 | Hapoel Galil Elyon | 28 | 20.7 | 3.1 | 1.1 | .9 | .4 | 11.1 |
2007/2008 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 27 | 20.3 | 4.0 | 1.4 | .4 | .3 | 10.4 |
2008/2009 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 27 | 25.3 | 4.8 | 1.8 | .4 | .3 | 12.8 |
Career | [10] | 103 | 18.5 | 3.6 | 1.3 | .7 | .2 | 10.0 |
- including Playoff games
Euroleague
Season | Team | GP | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005/2006 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 3 | 3.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 0.7 |
2007/2008 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 20 | 11.2 | 2.1 | .6 | .3 | .2 | 4.6 |
2008/2009 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 16 | 17.4 | 3.1 | .4 | .8 | .2 | 8.8 |
Career | [11] | 39 | 15.3 | 1.7 | .3 | .3 | .1 | 4.7 |
NBA career statistics
Regular season
Season | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009/2010 * | Sacramento Kings | 50 | 21 | 27.9 | .471 | .385 | .669 | 5.0 | 1.4 | .7 | .3 | 12.1 |
Career | [12] | 50 | 21 | 27.9 | .471 | .385 | .669 | 5.0 | 1.4 | .7 | .3 | 12.1 |
- * Ongoing Season
Legend | |||||
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GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
References
- ^ Jerusalem Post (2009-10-29). "Casspi scores 15 in dream NBA debut". jpost.com. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1256799038523&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
- ^ "His sister: Omri Caspi not only aiming high". nrg. 2009-05-08. http://translate.google.co.il/translate?hl=iw&sl=iw&tl=en&u=http://www.nrg.co.il/online/3/ART1/888/115.html.
- ^ http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/index.php/200911242364/Sacramento-s-new-King-of-the-court-is-from-Israel.html
- ^ Associated Press (2007-10-11). "Fans give little reaction to Thomas in Knicks' blowout". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=271011018. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
- ^ Sinai, Allon (2008-06-18). "NBA & Local Hoops: Casspi withdraws from draft". Jerusalem Post. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1212659760124&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "2009 NBA Draft". NBA. 2009-06-25. http://www.nba.com/draft2009/. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
- ^ Mittleman, Jerry (2009-06-26). "Omri Casspi becomes first Israeli picked in first round of NBA draft". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1095877.html. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
- ^ http://www.nba.com/games/20091028/SACOKC/gameinfo.html
- ^ http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-091216/daily-dime
- ^ http://www.casspi18.com/index.php/page/47.html
- ^ http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=JFO
- ^ http://www.nba.com/playerfile/omri_casspi/index.html?nav=page
External links
- NBA.com: Omri Casspi Profile
- Euroleague: Omri Casspi Profile
- Maccabi Tel Aviv: Omri Casspi Profile
- Basketpedya.com: Omri Casspi Profile
- Casspi18.com: Official Website
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