Omri Casspi officially became the first Israeli to ever play in the NBA last night when he logged 19 minutes for the Sacramento Kings.

(Discuss Omri Casspi in our Israeli Basketball Forum)

The rookie played as well as his minutes allowed him, scoring 15 points on 7 of 9 field goal shooting and 1-2 free throws. Casspi added 3 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal in his NBA debut.

After the game, Casspi reflected the minutes before making his historic debut.

“When I was in the dressing room, I sat and thought about where I had started I saw in my mind everything that I had gone through – all the coaches, the ups and downs.” Casspi said.

“I said to myself: ‘Wow, I’m sitting right now in the dressing room of an NBA team; around me are NBA players of the highest caliber in the world; I’m going to compete for the first time in an NBA game, which will be on the highest level I’ve ever played; and I’m making history being the first Israeli player.’”

Despite Casspi’s efficiency and team-high plus/minus of +10, the Kings didn’t fare nearly as well, losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder 102-89.

“I would have preferred to score 6 or 8 points and win than to score 15 [and lose].” Casspi said.

After his great start, Casspi remains grounded about his expectations, realizing that the NBA season is long and you’re only as good as your last game.

“I’m very focused, working very hard, keeping my feet very much on the ground.” Casspi continued. “Life in the NBA is very fast and we still have 81 games to play.”