Wael Arakji ( ar, وائل عرقجي; born 4 September 1994) is a Lebanese

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is the top-tier professional men's basketball league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB). Currently, the leagu ...

club

Al Riyadi Club Beirut Al Riyadi Club Beirut ( ar, نادي الرياضي بيروت, lit=Sporting Club Beirut) is a multi-sports club based in Manara, a district in Beirut, Lebanon. Founded in 1934, the basketball team competes in the Lebanese Basketball League. T ...

and the Lebanon national team. He is nicknamed "the Great" (). At the club level, he also played in the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

and participated in the

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

for the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. For the national team, Arakji won the MVP award at the

2022 FIBA Asia Cup The 2022 FIBA Asia Cup (formerly known as the FIBA Asia Championship) will be the 30th continental basketball championship in Asia. The tournament is organised by FIBA Asia. Originally intended to be the 2021 edition, the tournament was initiall ...

, where Lebanon finished runners-up.

Professional career

Born in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, Lebanon, Arakji caught the eye of head coach of

Al Riyadi Beirut Al Riyadi Club Beirut ( ar, نادي الرياضي بيروت, lit=Sporting Club Beirut) is a multi-sports club based in Manara, a district in Beirut, Lebanon. Founded in 1934, the basketball team competes in the Lebanese Basketball League. T ...

Slobodan Subotić Slobodan "Piksi" Subotić ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Суботић, el, Σλόμπονταν Σούμποτιτς; born 15 August 1956) is a Slovenian professional basketball coach and former player. He last served as the head coach for Buduć ...

, following his performances with Lebanon at the

2012 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship The 2012 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship is the 2012 edition of the FIBA Asia's youth championship for basketball. The games were held at Ulan Bator, Mongolia between 17 August and 26 August 2012. China defeated Korea in the championship to clin ...

. During his seven seasons with Al Riyadi in the

, Arakji won four league titles and the

FIBA Asia Champions Cup The FIBA Asia Champions Cup, previously known as the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Champions Cup until 2002, is the Asian club championship for professional basketball. It is organised by FIBA Asia, and takes place once a year (since 199 ...

in 2017. In 2015 he declared for the NBA draft, but was not selected. In 2018, Wael played for

Beijing Royal Fighters The Beijing Royal Fighters () are a Chinese professional men's basketball team which is based in Beijing and plays in the Northern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Beijing BG (known in Chinese as Beijing Beikong) is the cl ...

in the Chinese Basketball Association. During that five-game stint, he averaged 16.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.4 steals. In 2019, he got an opportunity to play for the

in the

. In 2020, Arakji helped

Al-Shamal Al Shamal ( ar, ٱلشَّمَال, Ash Shamāl) is a municipality in the state of Qatar. Its seat is called ''Madinat ash Shamal'' and it is considered to be one of the major cities in Qatar, although the population is barely over 8,000. The se ...

win the

Qatari Basketball League The Qatari Basketball League () is the top-tier men's basketball league operating in Qatar. The winning team obtains the participation right to the FIBA Asia Champions Cup. The first official season took place in 1981/82. There is a second divisi ...

. He started the 2020–21 season with the same club and helped them reach the final of the league averaging 26.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.7 steals in 14 games. In 2021, Arakji won the

Championnat National A The Championnat National A (CNA) is the highest tier professional basketball league in Tunisia. Established in 1956, the league currently features 10 teams. Étoile Sportive de Radès is the record holder for most titles, with a total of thirteen. ...

with US Monastir in Tunisia, and reached the final of the

Basketball Africa League The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is Africa's premier men's basketball league. The league consists of twelve teams, each qualified through their domestic competition, similar to the format of the UEFA Champions League. The league is a joint eff ...

. He was named to the 2021

All-BAL First Team The All-BAL First Team is an annual Basketball Africa League The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is Africa's premier men's basketball league. The league consists of twelve teams, each qualified through their domestic competition, similar to the ...

. In September 2021, Arakji joined

Al-Jahra Al Jahra ( ar, الجهراء) is a town and city located west of the centre of Kuwait City in Kuwait. Al Jahra is the capital of the Al Jahra Governorate of Kuwait as well as the surrounding Al Jahra District which is agriculturally based. Encyc ...

in Kuwait. On 6 March 2022, Arakji signed with Beirut Club for his return to the Lebanese Basketball League after three years. He helped Beirut win the championship, after defeating his former club Al Riyadi Beirut in the final.

National team career

In 2012, Arakji made his debut by helping Lebanon finish in seventh place at the

. Arakji helped Lebanon win the 2022 Arab Basketball Championship, winning the final against

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

72–69, and was nominated MVP of the tournament. He also finished runner-up of the

as the tournament's

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

and top scorer, with an average of 26.0 points per game.

Awards and accomplishments

Al Riyadi Beirut *

: 2017 * 4×

: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 US Monastir *

: 2021 Al-Shamal *

: 2020 Beirut Club *

: 2022 Lebanon * Arab Basketball Championship Gold Medal: (

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

) *

FIBA Asia Cup The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania. Through the 2015 edition, the tourn ...

Silver Medal:

Individual *

FIBA Asia Cup MVP The FIBA Asia Cup Most Valuable Player Award is a FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence F ...

* FIBA Asia Cup All-Tournament Team:

* Arab Basketball Championship MVP:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Career statistics

, - , align=center , 2012–13 , align=left ,

Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut Al Riyadi Club Beirut ( ar, نادي الرياضي بيروت, lit=Sporting Club Beirut) is a multi-sports club based in Manara, a district in Beirut, Lebanon. Founded in 1934, the basketball team competes in the Lebanese Basketball League. T ...

, LBL , 21 , , 10.2 , , .450 , , .333 , , .400 , , 1.6 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , .0 , , 2.7 , - , align=center , 2013–14 , align=left ,

, LBL , 22 , , 9.9 , , .333 , , .095 , , .667 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .0 , , 1.8 , - , align=center , 2014–15 , align=left ,

, LBL , 33 , , 19.8 , , .532 , , .286 , , .806 , , 2.6 , , 2.7 , , .8 , , .1 , , 6.9 , - , align=center , 2015–16 , align=left ,

, LBL , 35 , , 22.2 , , .472 , , .288 , , .750 , , 2.4 , , 3.2 , , .8 , , .1 , , 6.7 , - , align=center , 2016–17 , align=left ,

, LBL , 19 , , 25.1 , , .580 , , .280 , , .633 , , 3.8 , , 4.6 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 9.8 , - , align=center , 2017–18 , align=left ,

, LBL , 26 , , 29.7 , , .492 , , .327 , , .710 , , 4.0 , , 6.3 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , 13.1 , - , align=center , 2017–18 , align=left ,

, CBA , 5 , , 34.8 , , .431 , , .136 , , .720 , , 4.8 , , 7.2 , , 1.6 , , .0 , , 16.6 , - , align=center , 2018–19 , align=left ,

, LBL , 25 , , 26.5 , , .511 , , .425 , , .812 , , 3.2 , , 4.4 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 12.5 , - , align=center , 2019–20 , align=left ,

, LBL , 2 , , 34.1 , , .360 , , .200 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 10.0 , - , align=center , 2020–21 , align=left , US Monastir ,

BAL Bal may refer to: * Bal (surname), a Dutch, Indian, and Turkish surname * Bal, Iran (disambiguation) * Bal, Zira, a village in Punjab, India * ''Bal'' (film), a 2010 Turkish film * Bäl, a settlement on the Swedish island of Gotland * 8678 Bä ...

, 6 , , 22.6 , , .707 , , .4 , , 0.867 , , 2.6 , , 3.4 , , 1.4 , , .0 , , 15.0

References

External links

Wael Arakji
at asia-basket.com
Wael Arakji
at draftexpress.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Arakji, Wael 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Beirut Lebanese men's basketball players Shooting guards Al Riyadi Club Beirut basketball players Beijing Royal Fighters players US Monastir basketball players Al-Jahra SC basketball players Beirut Club players Lebanese expatriate basketball people in Kuwait Lebanese expatriate basketball people in Tunisia Lebanese expatriate basketball people in China