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Wael Arakji

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Wael Arakji
Al-Arabi
PositionPoint guard
LeagueQatari Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1994-09-04) September 4, 1994 (age 30)
Beirut, Lebanon
Listed height192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Listed weight90 kg (198 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2015: undrafted
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012–2019Al Riyadi
2018→ Beikong Fly Dragons
2020–2021Al-Shamal
2021US Monastir
2021–2022Al-Jahra
2022Beirut Club
2022–2024Al Riyadi
2024–presentAl-Arabi
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Lebanon
FIBA Asia Cup
Silver medal – second place 2022 Jakarta
Arab Basketball Championship
Gold medal – first place 2022 Dubai

Wael Arakji (Arabic: وائل عرقجي; born 4 September 1994) is a Lebanese basketball player for Al-Arabi of the Qatari Basketball League. He is nicknamed "the Fearsome" (Arabic: الرهيب, romanized: al-rahib).[1]

At the club level, he also played in the Chinese Basketball Association and participated in the NBA Summer League for the Dallas Mavericks in 2019. For the national team, Arakji won the MVP award at the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup, where Lebanon finished runners-up.

Professional career

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Born in Beirut, Lebanon,[1] Arakji caught the eye of head coach of Al Riyadi Beirut, Slobodan Subotić, following his performances with Lebanon at the 2012 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship.[1] During his seven seasons with Al Riyadi in the Lebanese Basketball League, Arakji won seven league titles and the FIBA Asia Champions Cup in 2017.[2] In 2015 he declared for the NBA draft, but was not selected.[1]

On January 31, 2018, Arakji signed with Beikong Fly Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association after Zaid Abbas was injured.[3] During that five-game stint, he averaged 16.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.4 steals.[4] In 2019, he got an opportunity to play for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Summer League.[5]

On January 20, 2020, Arakji signed with Nanjing Monkey Kings of the Chinese Basketball Association.[6][7] On February 7, 2020, Arakji signed with Al-Shamal of the Qatari Basketball League.[8] On July 15, 2020, Arakji re-signed with Al-Shamal.[9] Arakji helped Al-Shamal win the Qatari Basketball League. 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.[1]

On February 7, 2021, Arakji signed with US Monastir of the Championnat National A.[10] Arakji won the Championnat National A with US Monastir, and reached the final of the Basketball Africa League.[11] He was named to the 2021 All-BAL First Team.[12]

On June 2, 2021, Arakji signed with Al-Shamal.[13] On August 10, 2021, Arakji signed with Al-Jahra in Kuwait.[14] On 6 March 2022, Arakji signed with Beirut Club for his return to the Lebanese Basketball League after three years.[15] He helped Beirut win the championship, after defeating his former club Al Riyadi Beirut in the final.[1]

On October 25, 2022, Arakji signed with Al Riyadi.[16] On June 15, 2024, Arakji and Al Riyadi won the 2024 Basketball Champions League Asia, his second continental championship.[17] He had a tournament-high 31 points and 9 assists in the final against Shabab Al Ahli.[17] Arakji was named the league MVP after averaging 21.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and a league-high 8.4 assist per game, while shooting 75.5% from the field and 71.4% from three.[18]

On October 18, 2024, Arakji signed with Al-Arabi of the Qatari Basketball League.[19]

National team career

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In 2012, Arakji made his debut by helping Lebanon finish in seventh place at the 2012 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship.[1]

Arakji helped Lebanon win the 2022 Arab Basketball Championship, winning the final against Tunisia 72–69,[1] and was nominated MVP of the tournament.[20] He also finished runner-up of the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup as the tournament's MVP and top scorer,[21] with an average of 26.0 points per game.[22]

He played with the national team in 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Awards and accomplishments

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Al Riyadi Beirut

US Monastir

Al-Shamal

Beirut Club

Lebanon

Individual

Career statistics

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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 21 10.2 .450 .333 .400 1.6 1.8 .6 .0 2.7
2013–14 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 22 9.9 .333 .095 .667 1.0 1.3 .8 .0 1.8
2014–15 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 33 19.8 .532 .286 .806 2.6 2.7 .8 .1 6.9
2015–16 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 35 22.2 .472 .288 .750 2.4 3.2 .8 .1 6.7
2016–17 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 19 25.1 .580 .280 .633 3.8 4.6 1.2 .2 9.8
2017–18 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 26 29.7 .492 .327 .710 4.0 6.3 1.3 .0 13.1
2017–18 Beijing Royal Fighters CBA 5 34.8 .431 .136 .720 4.8 7.2 1.6 .0 16.6
2018–19 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 25 26.5 .511 .425 .812 3.2 4.4 1.0 .1 12.5
2019–20 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut LBL 2 34.1 .360 .200 .000 2.0 4.0 1.0 .0 10.0
2020–21 US Monastir BAL 6 22.6 .707 .4 0.867 2.6 3.4 1.4 .0 15.0

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Ghazi, Hussien (July 24, 2022). "وائل عرقجي .. مسيرة مع النجومية قادته لأفضل لاعب بكأس آسيا" [Wael Arakji “The Terrible” .. A career with stardom led him to the best player in the Asian Cup]. alaraby (in Arabic). Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  2. ^ "Al Riyadi are the kings of FIBA Asia champions cup 2017". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  3. ^ "北控签下黎巴嫩后场核心 澄清信一到便能登场". 新浪体育. January 31, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  4. ^ "Al Riyadi keeps Arakji for another season". Eurobasket.com. June 1, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  5. ^ "Mavs off to a great start on day one of summer league workouts". Mavs.com. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  6. ^ "Wael Arakji: Agrees to terms with Chinese club". CBSSports.com. January 20, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  7. ^ "曝黎巴嫩国手签同曦 曾力压郭艾伦成亚洲第一后卫". 网易体育. January 21, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  8. ^ "Wael Arakji (ex Al Riyadi) is a newcomer at Al Shamal". Eurobasket.com. February 7, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  9. ^ "Arakji re-signs at Al Shamal". Eurobasket.com. July 15, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  10. ^ "US Monastir signs Wael Arakji, ex Al Shamal". Eurobasket.com. February 7, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  11. ^ "New signings dominate Basketball Africa League teams' latest moves". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  12. ^ @theBAL (June 4, 2021). "The All-BAL First Team. ⭐" (Tweet). Retrieved June 6, 2021 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "Al Shamal welcomes back Arakji". Eurobasket.com. June 2, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  14. ^ "Wael Arakji (ex Al Shamal) joins Jahraa". Eurobasket.com. August 10, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  15. ^ Madwar, Ahmad (March 6, 2022). "Beirut Club inks Wael Arakji, ex Jahraa". Asia-basket.com. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  16. ^ "Al Riyadi welcomes back Arakji". Eurobasket.com. October 25, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d "Wael Arakji leads Al Riyadi to a dominating title in first-ever BCL Asia". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  18. ^ "Wael Arakji named Basketball Champions League Asia 2024 MVP". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  19. ^ "Al Arabi signs Wael Arakji, ex Al Riyadi". Eurobasket.com. October 18, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  20. ^ "Lebanon's Arab Basketball Championship stars receive heroes welcome from fans in Beirut". Arab News. February 18, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  21. ^ "عرقجي أفضل لاعب في أمم آسيا للسلة". كووورة. July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  22. ^ The SportsGrail; Dilta, Abhishek; Dilta, Abhishek (July 24, 2022). "FIBA Basketball Asia Cup 2022 Final Winner, Australia vs Lebanon Live Score, Results, Prize Money 2022, Awards Winners List". The SportsGrail. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  23. ^ "Redemption unlocked as Al Riyadi annex Champions Cup crown". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
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