Omri Casspi Biography

Omri Moshe Casspi is an Israeli professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. He is 6 ft 9 in tall and plays the small forward position, but can play also at the power forward position.

Casspi is Jewish, was born in Holon, Israel, and grew up in Yavne. He is the son of Shimon and Ilana and has an older brother, Eitan, and a younger sister, Aviv. Both of Casspi’s parents are Israeli-born and of Moroccan-Jewish descent.

As a child, Casspi played for junior programs at Elitzur Yavne and Maccabi Rishon LeZion. When he was 13, he moved to the Maccabi Tel Aviv youth team, winning the State Youth championship in 2005.

He was drafted 23rd overall in the 2009 NBA draft by the Sacramento 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 an NBA game. The Cleveland Cavaliers traded for him in June 2011, and he signed with the Houston Rockets in July 2013. In July 2014, Casspi was traded to the New 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 alongside DeMarcus Cousins and signed with the Warriors during the offseason.