An Israeli king of Kings

November 13, 2009 - 12:51 PM by David · 1 Comment
Filed under: General 

Thunder Kings BasketballWhen Omri Casspi became the first Israeli basketball player to make the NBA this year with the Sacremento Kings, it was a pretty big deal. And for most, it was the end all – even if he never gets to play and is cut after a year, it was still an accomplishment.

Who would have thought that, just a few short weeks into the season, the 21-year-old Casspi would spark the Kings to become a respectable NBA team, coming off the bench to score three-pointers, grab rebounds and generally play with more fervor than just about anyone else on the court? Probably only a few people, including Casspi and his coach, NBA great Paul Westphal.

“There’s nothing like the passion of a rookie. And from what I’ve seen, there are few rookies as passionate as Sacramento’s Omri Casspi,” wrote NBA.com writer Drew Packham this week in ranking Casspi as the seventh top rookie so far this season. Westphal even said,
“He’s going to make it in this league. He’s going to have a long career.”

The 6′ 8″ Yavne native has earned a strong following among Kings fans and a huge following among Israeli basketball fans in averaging almost 10 points per game. He’s also helped fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv, his old club where he averaged 12.8 points and 4.6 rebounds forget about the scandal unfolding following the suicide of team manager Moni Fanan.

More importantly, Casspi has proven to be a huge image booster for Israel. Fans wave Israeli flags at his games, and NBA fans who don’t know Israel from India are suddenly discovering a connection close to their hearts.

And he’s become a darling among sportswriters, with the natural angles of an Israeli making it in the NBA and his already well-known prediliction for hummus. The Salt Lake City Tribune recently ran a profile of Casspi, calling him a combination of Jackie Robinson and Kobe Bryant, a pioneer, and Israel’s greatest player.

“[Maccabi Tel Aviv] is the biggest team in Israel,” Casspi said. “As soon as I reached my goals there — I was a starter and one of the main players — I decided to give the NBA a shot. … I was fortunate to be drafted and I’m fortunate to be here.”

“Everybody in Israeli is following me,” he said after the Kings’ shoot-around Saturday morning. “They are showing the games over there. So it’s great.”

Isn’t carrying the hoop dreams of an entire country a bit of a burden?

“Nah, it’s OK,” Casspi said. “Everybody is really supporting me. I’m enjoying it. I’m just happy that everybody is happy for me.”

Here’s one story that everyone, except for Casspi’s NBA opponenets, can all be happy about.

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Our first NBA pick

July 1, 2009 - 8:18 PM by Jessica · 2 Comments
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Sports, coexistence 

casspi_omri_didele1You may have read about it already, but I need to express my excitement about Omri Casspi becoming the first Israeli player to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft. Yes, it’s not the final, final stage in this nail-biting process, but hey, it’s the NBA and he’s Israeli and it’s looking pretty good.

In case you didn’t know, Casspi is 6′9″, 20, and a forward for Maccabi Tel Aviv. He was selected 23rd overall by the Sacramento Kings, and as Ha’aretz noted, “is the focus of a national obsession with the idea of an Israeli making it into the NBA, in which some 20 percent of the players are foreigners.”

The country’s obsession should have been requited ten years ago when Oded Katash had a two-year contract with the New York Knicks — the New York Knicks! — but lost his marbles during the 1999 player lockout. I know, insane.

There have been others since; Doron Shefer, Lior Eliyahu and Yotam Halperin, all drafted, all in the second round. But they didn’t make it. Casspi, on the other hand, is in. Will he get a contract? Will he get off the bench? Hard to say. But hey. Very hopeful.

According to the New York Jewish Week, Casspi’s selection also smacks of a coexistence bid, natch, as the King’s co-owners, Joe and Gavin Maloof, are popular Sacramento businessmen and philanthropists who come from a Lebanese Arab family. That appears to be a first.

So what’ve we got? An Israeli basketball player signed to the NBA, and a coexistence play in progress. All good signs.

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Slow and steady gold

August 1, 2008 - 8:38 AM by Harry · 2 Comments
Filed under: Sports 

Despite the numerous European championships won by Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israelis aren’t exactly known for their athletic accomplishments. At the most recent summer Olympic games in Athens four years ago, windsurfer Gal Fridman won Israel his first gold medal after 52 years of attempts.

The Beijing games are set to kick off in a matter of days now, and we’re dead set on picking our battles. One blogger astutely points out that we dominated the celebrations at July’s Mathematics Olympics in Madrid.

And we can always look back fondly at the accomplishments of the Ramat Gan Safari’s Tortoise Olympics, where a new world Sudanese giant tortoise speed record of one kilometer per hour was set, triggering wild celebrations involving flowered wreaths and enthusiastic monkeys.

The old parable about the tortoise and the hare earns added poignancy in this context. And besides, let’s not forget that Israel is a place that has much love for turtles, operating a very special sanctuary dedicated to the creatures in Michmoret – just a few hours by turtleback from Gal Fridman’s hometown of Hadera.

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