Gal Mekel, 25, a point guard for the Dallas Mavericks, is an Israeli basketball player making headlines from ESPN to the Jerusalem Post. News broke when Mekel faced off with Omri Casspi, 25, former Cleveland Cavs player and now a forward for the Houston Rockets, at Friday’s game. It was the first time in history that Israeli NBA stars played each other.
It was fun to speak Hebrew during the game. Omri and I were talking about how far we have come since playing together at the youth level,” said Mekel to a reporter at jpost.com
The Houston Rockets defeated the Dallas Mavericks 113-105. Despite the loss, the all-stars were hyped to play one another. Casspi told the Jerusalem Post, “It was exciting to meet Gal.”
It looks like things will continue to look up for the rookie, Mekel.
There aren’t many undrafted rookies who make a big impact in the NBA. But through four games Dallas Mavericks Israeli point guard Gal-Mekel is doing just that.” – rantsports.com
Despite scores from the Rockets and Mavericks game it appears Mekel is still winning — sports writer David Thorpe listed him as one of the Top-10 Rookies in the NBA this far.
Mekel, who played at Wichita State (2006-7), left the NCAA when he signed his first professional contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv. It was just this past July that he joined the NBA, making this his first season.