Omri Casspi. Photo: Chamber of Fear.

JNS.org – Last Friday’s National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks marked the first time two Israeli players faced each other in an NBA game.

Omri Casspi, the forward for the Rockets who in 2009 became the first Israeli-born player in NBA history, scored 12 points in a 113-105 win. Rookie guard Gal Mekel, the second Israeli to play in the NBA, scored 11 points in the loss for Dallas.

“It’s a comment on the respect for Israeli basketball,” Casspi told the Houston Chronicle. “Two guys came a long way to get to this point.”