Wael Arakji

Wael Arakji (وائل عرقجي; born 4 September 1994) is a Lebanese basketball player for Lebanese Basketball League club Al Riyadi and the Lebanon national team. He is nicknamed "the Fearsome" (الرهيب).

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
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, 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. 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. 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. In 2019, he got an opportunity to play for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Summer League.

In 2020, 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.

In 2021, Arakji won the Championnat National A with US Monastir in Tunisia, and reached the final of the Basketball Africa League. He was named to the 2021 All-BAL First Team.

In September 2021, Arakji joined Al-Jahra 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.

On June 15, 2024, Arakji and Al Riyadi won the 2024 Basketball Champions League Asia, his second continental championship. He had a tournament-high 31 points and 9 assists in the final against Shabab Al Ahli. 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.

National team career
In 2012, Arakji made his debut by helping Lebanon finish in seventh place at the 2012 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship.

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

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

Awards and accomplishments
Al Riyadi Beirut
 * FIBA Asia Champions Cup: (2017, 2024 )
 * FIBA West Asia Super League : (2024)
 * 7x Lebanese Basketball League: (2014,2015,2016,2017,2019,2023,2024)

US Monastir
 * Championnat National A: 2021

Al-Shamal
 * Qatari Basketball League: 2020

Beirut Club
 * Lebanese Basketball League: 2022

Lebanon
 * Arab Basketball Championship 🥇 Gold Medal: (2022)
 * FIBA Asia Cup 🥈 Silver Medal: 2022

Individual
 * FIBA Asia Cup MVP: 2022
 * FIBA Asia Cup All-Tournament Team: 2022
 * Arab Basketball Championship MVP: 2022
 * All-BAL First Team: 2021
 * Lebanese Basketball League MVP: 2024
 * Basketball Champions League Asia MVP: 2024

Career statistics

 * align=center | 2012–13
 * align=left | Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
 * LBL
 * 21 || 10.2 || .450 || .333 || .400 || 1.6 || 1.8 || .6 || .0 || 2.7
 * align=center | 2013–14
 * align=left | Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
 * LBL
 * 22 || 9.9 || .333 || .095 || .667 || 1.0 || 1.3 || .8 || .0 || 1.8
 * align=center | 2014–15
 * align=left | Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
 * LBL
 * 33 || 19.8 || .532 || .286 || .806 || 2.6 || 2.7 || .8 || .1 || 6.9
 * align=center | 2015–16
 * align=left | Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
 * LBL
 * 35 || 22.2 || .472 || .288 || .750 || 2.4 || 3.2 || .8 || .1 || 6.7
 * align=center | 2016–17
 * align=left | Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
 * LBL
 * 19 || 25.1 || .580 || .280 || .633 || 3.8 || 4.6 || 1.2 || .2 || 9.8
 * align=center | 2017–18
 * align=left | Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
 * LBL
 * 26 || 29.7 || .492 || .327 || .710 || 4.0 || 6.3 || 1.3 || .0 || 13.1
 * align=center | 2017–18
 * align=left | Beijing Royal Fighters
 * CBA
 * 5 || 34.8 || .431 || .136 || .720 || 4.8 || 7.2 || 1.6 || .0 || 16.6
 * align=center | 2018–19
 * align=left | Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
 * LBL
 * 25 || 26.5 || .511 || .425 || .812 || 3.2 || 4.4 || 1.0 || .1 || 12.5
 * align=center | 2019–20
 * align=left | Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
 * 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
 * 6 || 22.6 || .707 || .4 || 0.867 || 2.6 || 3.4 || 1.4 || .0 || 15.0
 * align=center | 2019–20
 * align=left | Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
 * 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
 * 6 || 22.6 || .707 || .4 || 0.867 || 2.6 || 3.4 || 1.4 || .0 || 15.0
 * BAL
 * 6 || 22.6 || .707 || .4 || 0.867 || 2.6 || 3.4 || 1.4 || .0 || 15.0