Rony Seikaly

Ronald Fred "Rony" Seikaly (Arabic: رونالد ﺼيقلي‎; born May 10, 1965) is a retired Lebanese-born American professional basketball player.

Early life

Seikaly was born in Beirut, Lebanon. At the age of 9 years old, Rony Seikaly moved from Beirut where he attended his elementary school at the Athenee de Beyrouth, Bechemoun, Lebanon to Greece, where he was raised. He attended an American high school in Athens, Greece, the American Community School, or ACS Athens. He is a naturalized American citizen.

College career

In 1984, he began attending Syracuse University in upstate New York. He played at center for the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team and developed into one of the most dominating players in college history . He was an All-American and was also named to the John R. Wooden All-American Team. He was chosen on the Orange's All Century Team and his number 4 jersey has been retired and raised to the rafters at the Carrier Dome. He graduated from Syracuse as the all time leading rebounder, second in blocked shots and fourth in scoring. He led his Syracuse team to the 1987 NCAA tournament championship finals against the Indiana Hoosiers after averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds through out the tournament.

Pro career

When Seikaly was 17 years old he joined the Euroleague club Panathinaikos Athens in a tournament in Cyprus, but his nationality prevented him from playing in the Greek Championship as a Greek citizenship player, so he moved to the USA.

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.

In 1994, Seikaly was traded to the Golden State Warriors where he spent two years before going on to play for the Orlando Magic and averaged 16 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Magic. During the 1997-98 season he was traded to the Utah Jazz. The transaction was voided, due to an injury in his right foot and remained with Orlando. 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.

During his run with the Heat, he had the nickname "The Spin Doctor", due to his trademark low-post spin moves.^{[citation needed]} After Seikaly left the NBA, he signed with the Spanish League basketball team FC Barcelona.

United States national basketball team

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
FIBA World Championship
Gold	1986 Spain	USA

Seikaly played for the US national basketball team at the 1986 FIBA World Championship, and with the US team he won the gold medal.^[1]

Post basketball career

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Seikaly owns and runs a multi-million dollar real estate investment company; he is also an investor in the South Beach, Miami restaurants Quattro, Sosta and Club Mokai. He is an avid music lover and has been spotted working as a DJ in some of the biggest clubs in the world. Recently, he has taken a more active role as a DJ in the Miami night-life scene. He is frequently spotted with his DJ friend Erick Morillo, and has performed alongside him at Club LIV in the Fountainbleu Hotel.Every year Seikaly hosts the annual Rony Seikaly Golf Tournament for cystic fibrosis.

He was formerly married to Mexican supermodel Elsa Benitez, the 2001 and 2006 cover girl for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues. They divorced in 2005; they have a daughter, Mila.

Records and accolades

• Set Miami Heat record for blocks in a game (8)
• Set Miami Heat record for free throw attempts in a game (26) and blocks in a season (124)
• 1990 NBA's Most Improved Player
• Set Miami Heat record for rebounds in a season (934)
• NBA Player of the Week award
• Set Miami Heat record for defensive rebounds (26) and total rebounds (34) in a game
• Set Miami Heat record for free throws made in a game (16)
• 20 games of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in the same season
• Still holds numerous Miami Heat records

References

External links

• Rony Seikaly Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
• ACB.com Profile
• Basketpedya.com Profile
• Grooveallnight.com