Last Updated on July 26, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

The smartest cuts often belonged to Omri Casspi, who had a feel for slipping behind ball-watching defenders and arriving at the rim just as a passing lane opened. Add in dependable spot-up shooting and a willingness to sprint the wings in transition, and he became the kind of complementary forward whose movement created opportunities long before he ever touched the basketball.

Here’s a detailed profile of Omri Casspi:

Player Profile

  • Full Name: Omri Moshe Casspi
  • Nationality: Israeli
  • Age: Born June 22, 1988
  • Hometown: Holon, Israel
  • Height: 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 meters)
  • Weight: 225 lbs (102 kg)
  • Wingspan: 7 feet (2.13 meters)
  • Shoe Size: US size 16
  • Number: Most notably wore 18, reflecting his Israeli heritage
  • Position: Small Forward / Power Forward
  • High School: Attended Yavne High School in Israel while playing for youth teams of Maccabi Tel Aviv.
  • College: Did not attend college; he developed professionally in the Israeli league before entering the NBA.
  • NBA Draft: Selected 23rd overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings, becoming the first Israeli player to be drafted in the first round.
  • Teams Played For:
    1. Sacramento Kings (2009–2011, 2014–2017)
    2. Cleveland Cavaliers (2011–2013)
    3. Houston Rockets (2013–2014)
    4. New Orleans Pelicans (2017)
    5. Golden State Warriors (2017–2018)
    6. Memphis Grizzlies (2018–2019)
  • International Career
    • Represented Israel in FIBA competitions, serving as a leader for the national team.
  • Championship Rings: None in the NBA.
  • Kids: Casspi has two children with his wife, Shani.
  • Siblings: He has a sister, Aviv, and a brother, Eitan.

Player Archetype / Play Style

Omri Casspi’s player archetype was that of an energetic combo forward, a movement-heavy wing who fit best as a slashing complementary scorer, transition finisher, and floor-spacing forward rather than a primary creator. Defensively, his role was to bring effort, size, and activity across forward spots, using his motor to contest, rotate, and hold up within team concepts more than overwhelm matchups with elite length or shutdown isolation defense. Offensively, he was most useful attacking closeouts, running the floor hard, cutting without the ball, and knocking down spot-up jumpers, with his 6-foot-9 frame, solid athleticism, and physical competitiveness helping him play with pace and pressure. His overall play style was direct and high-energy: he thrived when he could play off others, fill lanes in transition, crash into openings, and keep the offense moving with quick decisions instead of slowing the game into possession-by-possession shot creation.

Scouting Report

Omri Casspi’s value came from how quickly he recognised advantage situations rather than from creating them himself. It’s easy to overlook because his game rarely demanded the ball for long, but he had an excellent feel for timing baseline cuts the instant a defender turned his head, and he constantly drifted into open windows during drive-and-kick sequences instead of standing stationary beyond the arc. That made him a natural fit in motion-heavy offences where the ball changed sides and closeouts arrived in rotation. He could finish with either hand when attacking an unbalanced defence and was comfortable sprinting the floor in transition, yet his handle tightened under sustained on-ball pressure, so asking him to break down set defences or operate repeatedly in pick-and-rolls usually led him away from his strengths. Defensively he understood team concepts and generally rotated on time as the low man, tagging rollers before recovering back to shooters, but quicker wings could force him into uncomfortable foot races, while stronger forwards could dislodge him once possessions became more physical. The interesting thing is that his best defensive possessions often came through anticipation rather than recovery speed; he read where the pass was going early enough to beat the offence to the spot. To me, Casspi was most effective alongside high-level creators who bent the defence every trip, allowing him to punish the gaps with relocations, straight-line drives and instinctive off-ball movement instead of asking him to manufacture offence from a standstill. His game had similarities to Joe Ingles before the ball reached Ingles’ hands as a playmaker, particularly in the intelligence of his cutting and spacing, while there were also shades of James Jones in the way he embraced a complementary offensive role built around movement, timely shooting and understanding exactly where the next opening was likely to appear.

Fun Facts

  • Casspi was known for his three-point shooting, hustle, and versatility.
  • Played a key role as a solid role player for several teams and helped popularize basketball in Israel.
  • Although he briefly joined the Golden State Warriors during their championship window, he was waived before the team won the 2018 title and thus did not receive a ring.

Sources:

NBADraft.net — Omri Casspi
Basketball-Reference — Omri Casspi Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more
NBA.com — Omri Casspi | Forward