Our first NBA pick

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

casspi_omri_didele1 You 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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