ISRAELI PRIDE AT SPECIAL OLYMPICS

Omri Casspi (left) is looking forward to turning his Israel tour for NBA players into a tradition after the success of the initiative this year. Israel’s first NBA player organized a visit for colleagues past and present as part of a joint initiative between NBA Cares, the league’s global community outreach

initiative, and the Omri Casspi Foundation, an organization set up by the player aimed at presenting Israel in a positive light across the world. All-Star DeMarcus Cousins (right, alongside Casspi at the Dead Sea), as well as Caron Butler, Iman Shumpert, Alan Anderson, Tyreke Evans and Chandler Parsons visited Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and also held training sessions with youth players from Hapoel Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv. ‘There is an amazing group of players here and there are already many players who want to come next year. God willing we will turn it into a tradition,’ said the 27-year-old Casspi on Wednesday. ‘The guys are having a lot of fun. They have been able to see who we really are. They thought that people shoot each other in the streets here, but they

have now seen what a warm and welcoming country Israel is.’