Pro Career
After playing basketball in the Greek youth system, Seikaly joined the Euroleague club Panathinaikos Athens' senior team in a tournament in Cyprus at the age of 17. However, his Lebanese nationality prevented him from playing in the Greek Basket League, because foreign players could not play in the league at that time. He was unable to gain Greek citizenship at the time, due to bureaucratic issues in getting his Greek citizenship, despite the fact that he had been mainly raised in Greece. So, he moved to the USA, where he could play college basketball.
After his college basketball career, where he had played with Syracuse University's Syracuse Orange, Seikaly was the 9th pick in the first round of the 1988 NBA Draft, taken by the Miami Heat. He became one of the best centers in the NBA with Miami (1989–1994), the Golden State Warriors (1995–1996), the Orlando Magic (1997–1998), the and New Jersey Nets (1998).
In 1988, the Miami Heat used their franchise's first ever draft pick (9th overall that year) to select the center. His career with Miami saw him setting numerous team records, including blocks (8), rebounds (34) and double doubles. He averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game in his career with the Heat. He was also in the NBA's top 7 rebounders for 5 straight years. He was also named the NBA's Most Improved Player in 1990. During his run with the Heat, he had the nickname, "The Spin Doctor", due to his trademark low-post spin moves.
In 1994, Seikaly was traded to the Golden State Warriors, where he spent two years, before going on to play for the Orlando Magic. He averaged 16 points and 9.5 rebounds per game for the Magic. During the 1997–1998 season, he was traded to the Utah Jazz, but the transaction was voided. Eventually, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets in early 1998, before announcing his retirement from the game in 2000. He holds NBA career averages of 14.7 points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game, and 1.29 blocks per game.
Seikaly's NBA career highs in a game are 40 points, 34 rebounds, 8 blocked shots, 4 steals and 6 assists. After Seikaly left the NBA, he signed with the Spanish ACB League basketball team Barcelona Basquet. He averaged 13 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in the Euroleague, during the 2000-01 season.
Read more about this topic: Rony Seikaly
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