 Casspi dunks with theRockets in 2013 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1988-06-22)June 22, 1988 (age 36) Holon, Israel |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2009: 1st round, 23rd overall pick |
| Selected by theSacramento Kings | |
| Playing career | 2005–2021 |
| Position | Small forward /power forward |
| Number | 7, 18, 36 |
| Career history | |
| 2005–2009 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| 2006–2007 | →Hapoel Galil Elyon |
| 2009–2011 | Sacramento Kings |
| 2011–2013 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2013–2014 | Houston Rockets |
| 2014–2017 | Sacramento Kings |
| 2017 | New Orleans Pelicans |
| 2017 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2017–2018 | Golden State Warriors |
| 2018–2019 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 2019–2021 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 4,642 (7.9 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 2,355 (4.0 rpg) |
| Assists | 662 (1.1 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Omri Moshe Casspi (Hebrew:עומרי משה כספי; born June 22, 1988) is an Israeli former professionalbasketball player. He mainly played at thesmall forward position, but also played at thepower forward position.
Casspi was drafted 23rd overall in the2009 NBA draft by theSacramento Kings, making him the first Israeli to be selected in the first round of an NBA draft. With his Kings debut in 2009, Casspi became the first Israeli to play in aNational Basketball Association game.[1] As a rookie, Casspi was chosen to participate in the NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge. TheCleveland Cavaliers traded for him in June 2011, and he signed with theHouston Rockets in July 2013.[2] In July 2014, Casspi was traded to theNew Orleans Pelicans as part of a three-team trade, but was later waived. He then returned to Sacramento prior to the 2014–15 season. In February 2017, he was traded to the Pelicans alongsideDeMarcus Cousins, and signed with the Warriors during the offseason. Waived after an April injury, Casspi signed with Memphis in July 2018.
One of the few Jewish players to reach the NBA afterDolph Schayes,Ernie Grunfeld,Danny Schayes andJordan Farmar[3][4] and the firstIsraeli-born,[5][6] Omri Casspi was born inHolon,Israel. He was raised in the city ofYavne, Israel.[6] Casspi is the son of Shimon and Ilana, and has an older brother, Eitan, and a younger sister, Aviv. Both of his parents areIsraeli-born and ofMoroccan-Jewish descent.[7] As an adult, Casspi added the middle name "Moshe" in memory of his grandfather.[8]
As a child, Casspi played for junior programs atElitzur Yavne andMaccabi Rishon LeZion. At age 13, he moved to theMaccabi Tel Aviv youth team, winning the State Youth championship in 2005.
Having previously played for Maccabi Tel Aviv youth team, Casspi made his professional debut at age 17 with Maccabi Tel Aviv during the 2005–06 season.[9] In his rookie season as a professional player, Casspi had averages of 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 9.4 minutes per game in the Israeli Premier League.
In 2006, Casspi was loaned toHapoel Galil Elyon for the 2006–07 season,[10] going on to have a breakthrough season behind him. He averaged 11.1 points and 3.1 rebounds over 28 games. In April 2007, Casspi scored 14 points for the World Select team at the Nike Hoop Summit in Memphis.[11]
Casspi returned to Maccabi for the 2007–08 season. The team reached theEuroLeague Finals in 2008. He received the2008Israeli League Sixth Man of the Year award, averaging 10.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. In February 2009, Casspi finished in fourth place in voting for theFIBA Europe Young Men's Player of the Year Award for the 2008–09 season, behindRicky Rubio,Danilo Gallinari andKosta Koufos. Maccabi won a state championship in2009. In the same season, Casspi's role in the team increased in the Israeli League, as well as in the EuroLeague. Over 27 league games, he averaged 12.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists, all career-highs.
In 2008, Casspi declared himself eligible for the2008 NBA draft, but he withdrew before the declaration deadline after failing to receive a first-round draft guarantee from any NBA club.[10]
On June 25, 2009, Casspi was selected with the 23rd overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in the2009 NBA draft,[12] becoming the first Israeli player selected as a first-round draft pick. Not sinceOded Kattash agreed to a contract with the New York Knicks in 1999 had an Israeli player come so close to playing in the NBA.[13] On July 10, Casspi signed a multi-year deal with the Kings.[14]
On October 28, 2009, Casspi made his NBA debut for the Kings against theOklahoma City Thunder, scoring 15 points.[15] On December 16, he made his first NBA start. Scoring 22 points against theWashington Wizards, Casspi tied the most points scored by any Kings player in his first start since the team moved to Sacramento in 1985.[16]
On January 1, 2010, Casspi scored a then career-high 23 points against theLos Angeles Lakers (along with six rebounds, a steal, and three assists) as the Kings narrowly lost 109–108. The next day, he grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds against theDallas Mavericks (along with 22 points, a steal, and four assists) as the Kings lost 99–91. On January 5, Casspi set a new career-high with 24 points against thePhoenix Suns (along with seven rebounds, an assist, no turnovers, and 10–19 from the field) as the Kings lost 113–109.
In February 2010, Casspi was chosen to participate in theNBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge, as well as theNBA All-Star Weekend H–O–R–S–E Competition againstKevin Durant andRajon Rondo.
In 2010–11, Casspi played in 71 games for Sacramento (starting 27 of them). He averaged 8.6 points, shot .412 shooting (including .372 from three-point range), and averaged 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 24.1 minutes per game. In his two seasons for Sacramento, Casspi averaged 9.5 points on .431 shooting, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 24.6 minutes per game.[17]
On June 30, 2011, Casspi was traded, along with a 2012 first round draft pick, to theCleveland Cavaliers in exchange forJJ Hickson.[17]
On July 16, 2013, Casspi signed a multi-year deal with theHouston Rockets.[2] On November 1, for the first time Israelis on opposing NBA teams faced each other, as the Rockets playedGal Mekel and the Dallas Mavericks; the two were teammates on the Israelis Under 16, Under 18, and Under 20 teams, and on the Maccabi Tel Aviv junior team.[18][19]
On July 15, 2014, Casspi was traded from the Rockets to theNew Orleans Pelicans in a three-team trade that also involved theWashington Wizards.[20] Eight days later, he was waived by the Pelicans.[21]
On September 18, 2014, Casspi re-signed with theSacramento Kings.[22] On April 7, 2015, he scored a then career-high 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting in a 116–111 victory over theMinnesota Timberwolves.[23]
On July 14, 2015, Casspi re-signed with the Kings.[24] On December 28, he scored a career-high 36 points in a 122–103 loss to the Golden State Warriors. In a three-pointer shootout duel withStephen Curry, Casspi also tiedMike Bibby's team record with nine three-pointers.[25][26]
While shooting 44.8 percent from outside of the arc, Casspi was being mentioned as a candidate for the All-StarThree-Point Contest.[27]
On February 20, 2017, Casspi and teammateDeMarcus Cousins were traded to theNew Orleans Pelicans in exchange forTyreke Evans,Buddy Hield,Langston Galloway, and 2017 first round and second round draft picks.[28] In his only game for the Pelicans three days later, Casspi broke his right thumb after scoring 12 points in the 129–99 loss to theHouston Rockets.[29] Casspi was subsequently waived by the Pelicans on February 25[30] after being ruled out for four to six weeks.[31]
On March 20, 2017, Casspi signed with theMinnesota Timberwolves.[32]
On July 12, 2017, Casspi signed with theGolden State Warriors.[33] On December 14, he posted his 17th career double-double with 17 points and a season-high 11 rebounds in a 112–97 victory over theDallas Mavericks.[34] On February 12, 2018, Casspi posted a season-high 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 129–83 victory over thePhoenix Suns.[35]
On April 7, 2018, Casspi, being injured, was waived by the Warriors to make room forQuinn Cook on their playoff roster.[36][37] CoachSteve Kerr explained: “We love Omri and what he brought to the team...It was difficult to sit with him and tell him we were going to do this."[38] Without Casspi, the Warriors went on to win the2018 NBA Finals against theCleveland Cavaliers in a four-game sweep. Casspi subsequently received a championship ring from the Warriors for his contributions during the 2017–18 season.[39]
On July 11, 2018, Casspi signed with theMemphis Grizzlies.[40] Entering the 2018–19 season, he had yet to participate in theNBA playoffs, the NBA's longest active tenured player to have never played in a playoff game,[41] ranking him number five overall in league history.[42] Casspi finished the season ranking fourth on that list and first since the introduction of the three-point line. On February 1, 2019, he suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee and surgery was scheduled accordingly.[43] Six days later, Casspi was waived by the Grizzlies.[44]
On August 13, 2019, Casspi returned toMaccabi Tel Aviv for a second stint, signing a three-year deal after playing ten seasons in the NBA.[45] On November 1, 2019, Casspi was namedIsraeli Player of the Month after averaging 11.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.8 steals in four games played in October.[46]
On July 18, 2021, Casspi announced his retirement from basketball.[47]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | Sacramento | 77 | 31 | 25.1 | .446 | .369 | .672 | 4.5 | 1.2 | .7 | .2 | 10.3 |
| 2010–11 | Sacramento | 71 | 27 | 24.0 | .412 | .372 | .673 | 4.3 | 1.0 | .8 | .2 | 8.6 |
| 2011–12 | Cleveland | 65 | 35 | 20.6 | .403 | .315 | .685 | 3.5 | 1.0 | .6 | .3 | 7.1 |
| 2012–13 | Cleveland | 43 | 1 | 11.7 | .394 | .329 | .537 | 2.7 | .7 | .6 | .3 | 4.0 |
| 2013–14 | Houston | 71 | 2 | 18.1 | .422 | .347 | .680 | 3.7 | 1.2 | .6 | .2 | 6.9 |
| 2014–15 | Sacramento | 67 | 19 | 21.1 | .489 | .402 | .733 | 3.9 | 1.5 | .5 | .1 | 8.9 |
| 2015–16 | Sacramento | 69 | 21 | 27.2 | .481 | .409 | .648 | 5.9 | 1.4 | .8 | .2 | 11.8 |
| 2016–17 | Sacramento | 22 | 2 | 18.0 | .453 | .379 | .571 | 4.1 | 1.2 | .5 | .0 | 5.9 |
| 2016–17 | New Orleans | 1 | 0 | 24.0 | .556 | .500 | .000 | 2.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 12.0 |
| 2016–17 | Minnesota | 13 | 0 | 17.1 | .487 | .200 | .625 | 1.5 | .8 | 1.0 | .2 | 3.5 |
| 2017–18 | Golden State | 53 | 7 | 14.0 | .580 | .455 | .725 | 3.8 | 1.0 | .3 | .4 | 5.7 |
| 2018–19 | Memphis | 36 | 0 | 14.4 | .534 | .349 | .672 | 3.2 | .7 | .6 | .3 | 6.3 |
| Career | 588 | 145 | 20.3 | .454 | .368 | .678 | 4.0 | 1.1 | .6 | .2 | 7.9 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 3 | 0 | 2.7 | .000 | .000 | .500 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .7 | - 1.7 |
| 2007–08 | 20 | 7 | 11.3 | .545 | .286 | .600 | 2.1 | .6 | .3 | .3 | 4.5 | 4.7 | |
| 2008–09 | 16 | 8 | 17.5 | .505 | .450 | .771 | 3.1 | .4 | .8 | .2 | 8.8 | 7.1 | |
| 2019–20 | 6 | 6 | 21.2 | .636 | .250 | .560 | 5.3 | 3.2 | 1.3 | .2 | 12.0 | 18.3 | |
| 2020–21 | 16 | 6 | 11.2 | .448 | .333 | .579 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.3 | .3 | 4.1 | 4.5 | |
| Career | 61 | 27 | 13.5 | .516 | .346 | .639 | 2.7 | .8 | .5 | .2 | 6.1 | 6.6 | |
Casspi plays for the senior Israeli national team in international competition,[48][49] and he was the team'scaptain at the2015 EuroBasket.[50]
In May 2022, Casspi launched a $50 million venture capital fund called Sheva. During his NBA career, Casspi was anangel investor in startups such asDocuSign and DayTwo.[51]
Casspi runs the Omri Casspi Foundation, which every year sponsors trips backed by theNational Basketball Players Association, for NBA players, WNBA players, and other celebrities, to Israel. The goal of the foundation is reach populations and show to the world what Israel is really like.[52] In 2015, those joining Casspi includedDeMarcus Cousins,Caron Butler,Chandler Parsons,Iman Shumpert andTyreke Evans.[53][54] The 2016 delegation includedJeremy Piven,Shawn Marion,Amar'e Stoudemire,Beno Udrih,Rudy Gay,Donald Sloan,Chris Copeland,Georges St-Pierre,Alysha Clark,Mistie Bass andMaria Ho.[55]
On July 6, 2017, Casspi was one of seven athletes to have been honored with participation in the torch lighting ceremony of the2017 Maccabiah Games.[56]
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