Paul Afeaki Khoury (; born 27 April 1968) is a
Tongan-
Lebanese former professional basketball player of American descent. He played most of his career in
Japan and
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
.
He was born in Tonga to American parents, and graduated from the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
in 1992. He joined the
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
summer league camp in 1992.
He selected with the 9th overall selection in the 1992
CBA Draft.
1992 CBA Draft
/ref>
Career
He played his first pro season in Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
before heading to Japan (played for Saitama Broncos, Sumitomo Metal Sparks, Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix
is a B.League professional basketball team, based in the eastern Mikawa Province, Mikawa and Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture region of central Japan.
The team was founded in 1965 as the company team of the OSG Corporation, a Toyokawa, Aichi, Toyo ...
) for 5 years. In 2001, he signed a contract with the Lebanese team Al Ryadi and three years later he joined Sagesse. He was granted by a Lebanese passport by the government.
* 1994-95 Fenerbahçe
* 1995 Antalya Büyükşehir Belediyesi
Antalya Büyükşehir Belediyesi Spor Kulübü (''English: Antalya Greater Metropolitan Municipality Sports Club''), commonly abbreviated as Antalya BB is a basketball team based in the city of Antalya in Turkey. Their home arena is the Dilek Saba ...
* 1996-01 in Japan
** Saitama Broncos
** Sumitomo Metal Sparks
** Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix
is a B.League professional basketball team, based in the eastern Mikawa Province, Mikawa and Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture region of central Japan.
The team was founded in 1965 as the company team of the OSG Corporation, a Toyokawa, Aichi, Toyo ...
* 2001-04 Al Ryadi
* 2004-06 Sagesse
Lebanon National Team
With the Lebanon National Team, he played the 2002 FIBA World Championship
The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the competition now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the international world championship for men's basketball teams. The tournament held by the International Basketball Federation i ...
in Indianapolis. The team didn't manage to win a single game and got the last rank after a 70-100 loss to Algeria in the classification game despite a 16 pts 9 rbs effort from him. During the tournament, he averaged 6.4 pts 56.5 %FG 6.0 rbs in 19 min per game including a 7 pts 10 rbs game against Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
.
Lebanon secured the silver medal in the Asian Championship with a loss in the final game against Yao Ming's China and Paul was one of the best post player in the tournament.
References
External links
Player Profile @ asia-basket.com
TBLStat.net Profile
1968 births
Living people
Centers (basketball)
Lebanese men's basketball players
Lebanese people of American descent
Lebanese people of Tongan descent
American people of Tongan descent
American expatriate basketball people in Turkey
Fenerbahçe men's basketball players
Antalya Büyükşehir Belediyesi players
Saitama Broncos players
San-en NeoPhoenix players
Utah Utes men's basketball players
2002 FIBA World Championship players
American men's basketball players
Sagesse SC basketball players
Al Riyadi Club Beirut basketball players
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