Kings' Israeli rookie Casspi has following in New York

NEW YORK -- Last season, there was quite a buzz when the Cavs and Lakers came to Madison Square Garden. This year, you might be able to say the same about the Sacramento Kings.

Yes, the Kings. The team that is the consensus pick to be the worst in the NBA. And the buzz won't be about Kenny Thomas' impending free agency.

The clues come from the crowd at Sunday afternoon's preseason tilt between the Knicks and Euroleague power Maccabi Tel Aviv. New York has, by far, the largest Jewish population outside of Israel. And while New York fans have turned against the Knicks plenty of times in the last several years, the only times the Garden crowd has been decidedly in the other team's favor at the beginning of the game have been Sunday and Maccabi's previous visit in 2007.

Israel has a smaller population than New York City, but loves its basketball. And while the Maccabi squad, winner of four Euroleague championships (the last in 2005) is a great source of national pride, Israelis have always been a bit frustrated by their lack of representation in the greatest basketball league in the world.

They're frustrated no more. Later this month, Kings forward Omri Casspi will make history as the first Israeli to play in the NBA.

In 2005, after Casspi finished his first practice with Maccabi, veteran center and fellow Israeli Yaniv Green told him, "You're going to be the first one." Casspi was just 17 at the time, but four years later, Green's prediction is about to come true.

Casspi's selection by the Kings with the 23rd pick in this year's draft wasn't only an event back in Israel, it was also a big deal in the Jewish community here in New York. Jeffrey Yeger, who was in attendance for the Maccabi game on Sunday, phoned some of his friends when Casspi's name was called by David Stern.

"It's a huge deal for us," he said. "We feel represented."

Maccabi is definitely the most popular basketball team in Israel, but the Kings are now moving up the list.

"I heard they're not going to be so good this year," Green said, "but I don't really care. I just want Casspi to succeed."

"Everybody's very proud of him, especially because he's the first one," added Maccabi guard Gal Mekel. "It's a very big thing in Israel. And we're looking forward to see him play a lot this year."

As a first-round pick, Casspi has a guaranteed contract, but after an inconsistent first few weeks of training camp, he isn't guaranteed a spot in the Kings' rotation. The good news is that he's shooting 55 percent from the field after four preseason games and coach Paul Westphal has had more favorable things to say about the rookie in the last week than he did earlier in camp. Francisco Garcia's broken wrist also creates a need for another wing to get some minutes off the bench.

But Westphal has criticized Casspi's defense and on Thursday, the 21 year old was a -20 against the Lakers in a game his team only lost by six. So it remains to be seen if Casspi will be in a suit or on the floor when the Kings visit the Garden on Tuesday, Feb. 9. The Knicks will promote it as Jewish Heritage Night, and they're expecting a bump in ticket sales for the game.

Migdal Ohr, the world's largest orphanage and the organizer for the Maccabi game, attempted to bring Casspi to New York to have his Tel Aviv number retired on Sunday. But the rookie couldn't miss practice back in Sacramento, so New York will have to wait until February for Casspi's return (he played for Maccabi in the 2007 game).

Yeger believes the Jewish community will come out to see Israel's first NBA representative. "I think people will come to see him," he said. "I'm definitely going to try to come."

His friend, Jake Wachsman, prefers the Kings' other first-round pick. "I'd come to see Tyreke Evans," Wachsman said. "I don't know about Casspi."

Some New Yorkers still just care about the basketball.

John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here.

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