Casspi’s group trip went viral this summer, most notably the hilarious photo of DeMarcus Cousins and Iman Shumpert flanking him, all three colossal human beings covered head to toe in mud from the Dead Sea. The group took a helicopter tour around Jerusalem. Each player approached the historic Western Wall and placed notes in its crevices as thousands descended upon the plaza to celebrate Shabbat that Friday evening.
“Everything seemed … epic,” Shumpert said. “It felt like it meant something to be standing in the spots we were standing in. “
The trip also included two basketball camps, hosting 150 Jewish, Arab and Druze children in Tel Aviv and around 200 more in Jerusalem. “I’m in the unique position to show my best friends, it’s the only country in all of the Middle East that you can be free religion. You can practice Islam, you can practice Christianity, you can be Jewish,” Casspi said. “Which is remarkable in that region.” The camps featured extensive drills with Shumpert teaching ball-handling, Cousins teaching post-up play and Parsons teaching jump shooting.
“He’s very proud of where he comes from,” Parsons said. “He served over there (in the Israel Defense Forces), his sister served, his dad served, his brother is still in [the reserves.]”
Casspi knows he’s not a politician. “We need a miracle,” is his solution to the never-ending war in his country.
For know, he’s focused on “shedding a positive light” on Israel while balancing the rigors of an NBA schedule across the Atlantic.
This season, Casspi is scoring a career-high 12.8 points per game while ranking third in the league in three-point percentage. Only four players in the NBA this season are shooting 50% from the floor, 40% from three and hitting at least one triple per game: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Omri Casspi.
Casspi is the one player doing so with the weight of a nation on his shoulders.
Article Appeared @http://www.si.com/nba/2016/01/08/omri-casspi-sacramento-kings-israel-maccabi-tel-aviv-demarcus-cousins