Casspi’s dream gets step closer to reality

Omri Casspi recalls watching NBA games on television as a kid. He loved basketball, and he dreamed about one day playing in the NBA.

His dream sounds like one that could have come from rural Indiana or an inner-city neighborhood in Los Angeles -- or anywhere in the United States for that matter.

However, Casspi grew up in Israel, a place where violence and terrorism, not basketball, make the evening news here in America. But if Casspi, a 6-foot-9-inch forward from the Tel Aviv suburbs, makes the Sacramento Kings' opening night roster and becomes the first Israeli-born player to participate in an NBA regular-season game, that would be news. Especially back home, where his old club team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, is Israel's answer to the Boston Celtics.

"Basketball is huge in Israel," said Casspi, whom the Kings selected in the first round of last month's NBA Draft with the 23rd pick overall. "When I played at Maccabi, we'd get 12,000 a game. People stay up late to watch the NBA. If I make it, there will be celebrations back home."

If he can make the Kings competitive, there probably will be celebrations in Sacramento, as well. The Kings are going through a tough stretch, having missed the playoffs three straight years. The team has had four coaches in the last four years. Interest has ebbed, and speculation abounds that Joe and Gavin Maloof are going to move the team if their proposed new arena at the Cal Expo fairgrounds doesn't materialize.

And as the team rebuilds with new coach Paul Westphal, there's an opportunity for Casspi, who is athletic, a strong rebounder and a good shooter, to come in and make an immediate impact.

He started slow in his NBA Summer League debut Friday but played better Saturday. Tonight, he takes another step in what he said will be a long process as the Kings meet Milwaukee at 7:30 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"It's a little bit different," Casspi said of his first taste of the NBA. "The intensity of the players is more than I expected, and I'm a little bit out of shape. But everything will be fine. There's a long way to go."

Actually, Casspi has had a taste of the NBA. Two years ago, Maccabi came to New York to face the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Casspi played 16 minutes and scored eight points in a 112-85 loss.

"I remember that game," he said. "I think it gave me incentive to work harder to try and one day get to the NBA."

Scotty Sterling, the Kings' director of scouting, first saw Casspi play in the Nike Hoop Summit in 2007, and he loved his toughness. When Sterling saw Casspi again, this time at a predraft combine workout last month in Oakland, Calif., he was even more convinced.

"He's a guy with courage," Sterling said. "After I saw him in Oakland, we worked him out at our place before the draft, and everyone loved him.

"Here's the thing with Omri -- he's not great in any one area, but he's good at everything. We think he's really going to make us better."

Westphal said once Casspi adjusts to the NBA, he'll be an asset.

"He's just scratching the surface," Westphal said. "Once he gets acclimated to the system and gets comfortable with his teammates, there'll be a lot of things he can do."

Casspi is not the first Israeli to have a shot at playing in the NBA. Doron Shefer, Lior Eliyahu and Yotam Halperin were drafted but none ever played in a game. Casspi knows the names and also realizes the historic significance of what he is on the verge of accomplishing.

"When I was a kid, my dream was to one day play for Maccabi," he said. "Now, if I make it, kids in Israel can dream of one day playing in the NBA."

Of course, those kids in Israel will have to serve their country first. Casspi spent three years in the Israeli army, and while he claims he shoots a basketball better than he does a rifle (he was a sniper in the army), he nonetheless had to fulfill his military obligation.

"It's no big deal," he said. "You know that everyone has to serve, so you do your duty. I didn't see any fighting, but I have friends who were fighting, so it's a little scary."

His biggest adjustment might be the relatively lax security he encounters in the USA.

"In Israel, when you travel, everything is checked carefully and thoroughly," he said. "You have to let them know where you are going, what you are doing. You're always on alert. That's the way it has to be. Here, you don't have that. You just come and go."

The Jewish community in Sacramento has reached out to Casspi, helping him find a place to live, securing him transportation and making sure he has everything he needs. His brother, Eitan, will stay with him in Sacramento this year.

"It will be nice to have family with me and help me to adjust," he said.

Though religious, Casspi is not orthodox, and he said he will play basketball on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons, when the Jewish Sabbath is being observed.

"I plan to play, yes," he said. Like most athletes, Casspi doesn't like to talk politics publicly. He knows it can only cause problems.

"I put my politics aside," he said. "I don't mix politics and basketball. I'm representing my country and my city, and will carry myself the right way."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.