Wael Arakji

Wael Arakji (Arabic: وائل عرقجي; born 4 September 1994) is a Lebanese basketball player who plays for Beirut Club of the Lebanese Basketball League (LBL) and the Lebanon national basketball team. He has also played in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and participated in the NBA Summer League for the Dallas Mavericks in 2019.

Wael Arakji
Beirut Club
PositionShooting guard
LeagueLebanese Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1994-09-04) 4 September 1994
Beirut, Lebanon
NationalityLebanese
Listed height193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Listed weight85 kg (187 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2015 / Undrafted
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012–2019Al Riyadi Beirut
2017–2018→Beijing Royal Fighters
2020Al-Shamal SC
2021US Monastir
2021–2022Al-Jahra
2022–presentBeirut Club
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Lebanon
Arab Basketball Championship
2022 Dubai

Career

In 2012, Wael made his debut by helping Lebanon finish in seventh place at the 2012 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship. There, the then-17-year-old caught the eye of Slobodan Subotić who had recently been hired to guide Al Riyadi.

During his seven seasons with Al Riyadi, one of the top professional clubs in the Lebanese Basketball League, Arakji won four Lebanese championships, and the FIBA Asia Champions Cup in 2017. [1]

In 2015 he declared for the NBA draft, but was not selected.

In 2018, Wael played for Beijing Royal Fighters 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. [2]

In 2019, he got an opportunity to play for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Summer League. [3]

In 2020, Arakji helped his team Al Shamal club win the Qatari D1 league. He started the 2020-2021 season with the same club and helped his team reach the final of the Qatari D1 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 with US Monastir and reached with his team the final of the Basketball Africa League. [4] He was named to the All-BAL First Team.

In September 2021, Arakji joined Al-Jahra in Kuwait.[5]

On 6 March 2022, Arakji signed with Beirut Club for his return to the Lebanese Basketball League after three years.[6]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played  MPG  Minutes per game  FG%  Field goal percentage
 3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game
 PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high     Led the league
Year Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012-13 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 2110.2.450.333.4001.61.8.6.02.7
2013-14 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 229.9.333.095.6671.01.3.8.01.8
2014-15 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 3319.8.532.286.8062.62.7.8.16.9
2015-16 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 3522.2.472.288.7502.43.2.8.16.7
2016-17 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 1925.1.580.280.6333.84.61.2.29.8
2017-18 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 2629.7.492.327.7104.06.31.3.013.1
2017-18 Beijing Royal Fighters CBA 534.8.431.136.7204.87.21.6.016.6
2018-19 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 2526.5.511.425.8123.24.41.0.112.5
2019-20 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 234.1.360.200.0002.04.01.0.010.0
2019-20 Dallas Mavericks NBA 313.0.545.333.0000.672.00.67.04.33
2020-21 US Monastir BAL 622.6.707.40.8672.63.41.4.015.0

References
  1. "Al Riyadi are the kings of FIBA Asia champions cup 2017". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  2. "Wael Arakji agrees to terms with Chinese club". cbssports.com. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  3. "Mavs off to a great start on day one of summer league workouts". Mavs.com. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  4. "New signings dominate Basketball Africa League teams' latest moves". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  5. "Lebanese basketball star Wael Arakji moves to Kuwaiti Jahra". Tellerreport.com. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  6. Madwar, Ahmad (March 6, 2022). "Beirut Club inks Wael Arakji, ex Jahraa". Asia-basket.com. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
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