JERUSALEM, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Israeli basketball star Omri Casspi has returned home after ten years in the NBA, signing a three-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv, the club and player announced on Tuesday.
31-year-old power forward Casspi spent three seasons at Maccabi at the beginning of his career, twice winning the Israeli Super League championship title.
In the 2009 NBA draft, he was selected with the 23rd overall pick by the Sacramento Kings, and played for the club for two seasons.
Casspi then played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets, before returning to Sacramento in 2014 for two and a half more seasons with the Kings.
In 2017, he joined the New Orleans Pelicans, and also had spells with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies.
In total, Casspi participated in 588 games in his ten seasons in the NBA, averaging 20.3 minutes, 7.9 points and 4 rebounds per game.
Casspi said: "I did not believe I would be that excited. I am going back home to where I grew up and learned to play basketball. It's the place that taught me to be a winner".
