Abdel Rahman Nader (; born September 25, 1993) is an Egyptian-American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who last played for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Northern Illinois Huskies The Northern Illinois Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Northern Illinois University (NIU). The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I and the Mid-American Conference (M ...

and the Iowa State Cyclones before being drafted by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

with the 58th overall pick in the

2016 NBA draft The 2016 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2016, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the U.S. by ESPN, and was live streamed for the first time in NBA draft history by The Vertical. National Basketball Association (NBA) ...

. Nader has also played for the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

Early life

Born in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, Egypt, Nader started his career at Maine East High School, before transferring to Niles North. He averaged 23.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game as a senior at Niles North and led the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

to a 24–6 record and their first sectional championship and Central Suburban League titles in the school's 47-year history. He garnered First Team All-State honors from the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', earned ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' Class 4A Second Team All-State recognition, and named to the

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

Chicago All-Area team.

College career

Freshman season

Nader enrolled at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

and appeared in all 31 games starting in 29 of them. He averaged a team-best 10.4 points, third among

MAC Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

freshmen; and 4.2 rebounds, second-best among

freshmen. Nader recorded 21 steals and a team-high 22 blocked shots, the best among conference freshmen. He made his first collegiate start in the season opener at

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, scoring nine points and grabbing four rebounds. He scored in double figures in 17 games, including three games of 20-plus points as well as having a season-best 26 points against Ball State. Nader's freshman season earned him

All-Freshman Team honors.

Sophomore season

Nader began the season as a preseason All-

West selection. He started 18 of the 19 games he played in, leading the team in scoring at 13.1 points while averaging 5.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and shooting 77.2 percent from the free-throw line (44-57 FT). He scored in double figures 13 times, including three games with 20-plus points. Abdel posted 23 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range against

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula of the United States, U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said t ...

(8-12 FG). He was named

West Player of the Week on Feb 4 after averaging 22.5 points and 11.0 rebounds during the week. In spite of Nader's contributions, the Huskies finished last in the MAC West division and had a 5–15 team record overall, and it was reported that he would be transferring to another school.

Junior season

Nader eventually transferred to Iowa State. He had to sit out the 2013–2014 season, becoming eligible again for the 2014–15 season. Nader saw action in 32 games, averaging 5.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game. He was tied for second on the team with 16 blocked shots. He grabbed six boards, two blocks, two steals, and hit 6-of-10 field goals, including 4-of-6 behind the arc to score 19 points in Iowa State's victory at

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. He matched his season-high with 19 points at

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. Nader scored 11 points and had six rebounds at home against Kansas State. He scored seven consecutive points in a key second-half run against the

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

and blocked a fastbreak layup with 2:48 left that would have given the

the lead. Nader averaged 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds when playing at least 20 minutes, ISU was 8–1 in those games.

Professional career

Maine Red Claws (2016–2017)

On June 24, 2016, Nader was drafted by the

with the 58th overall pick in the

. He then joined the Celtics for the 2016 NBA Summer League. On October 31, 2016, he was acquired by the Maine Red Claws of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. On April 14, 2017, he was named the 2016–17 NBA Development League Rookie of the Year, becoming the first internationally born player to be named NBA D-League Rookie of the Year and the third Red Claws player to earn the honor. Nader averaged 21.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 40 games, propelling the Red Claws to a 29–21 record and the Eastern Conference's second seed in the 2017 NBA D-League Playoffs. In addition to shooting 44.6 percent from the floor, Nader recorded a team-high 99 three-pointers. He also tallied 16 points, four rebounds and four assists during the 2017 D-League All-Star Game in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Boston Celtics (2017–2018)

On July 14, 2017, Nader agreed to a 4-year, $6M deal with the Celtics. He made his NBA debut on October 18 against the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. During his rookie season, he received multiple assignments to the Maine Red Claws. In four games with the Red Claws, he averaged 21.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. Nader posted 3.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game with the Celtics, and appeared in 11 playoff games during Celtics Eastern Conference Finals run.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2018–2020)

On July 23, 2018, Nader was traded to the

in exchange for Rodney Purvis. Oklahoma City also received cash considerations in the deal. On November 28, 2019, Nader scored his career-high 23 points with two rebounds in a 136–119 loss against the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

Phoenix Suns (2020–2022)

On November 16, 2020, the Thunder traded Nader and

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and "the Point God", is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded by some as one of the greatest p ...

to the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

for Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, and a protected 2022 first-round pick. After getting a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

in a December 2020 preseason against the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

, he made his season debut on January 11, 2021, against the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

. On January 28, Nader scored a season-high 16 points in a blowout 114–93 win over the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

. On March 4, he had a near-double-double performance with 14 points and a career-high 9 rebounds off the bench in another blowout victory over Golden State, this time ending with a 120–98 win. Nader made the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

, but the Suns lost in 6 games to the

. On August 6, 2021, Nader re-signed with the Suns. Nader was then later waived on February 10, 2022.

S.E. Melbourne Phoenix (2023–2024)

On December 12, 2023, Nader signed with the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) for the rest of the 2023–24 season.

International career

Nader is eligible for the Egypt national team and has confirmed that he would be making his debut at the

2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams, held from 25 August to 10 September 2023. The tournament was the second to feature 32 teams and was hosted by multipl ...

. However, he managed to complete the procedures to represent Egypt in March 2024.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 48 , , 1 , , 10.9 , , .336 , , .354 , , .590 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .3 , , .2 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, 61 , , 1 , , 11.4 , , .423 , , .320 , , .750 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , .3 , , .2 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 55 , , 6 , , 15.8 , , .468 , , .375 , , .773 , , 1.8 , , .7 , , .4 , , .4 , , 6.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 24 , , 0 , , 14.8 , , .491 , , .419 , , .757 , , 2.6 , , .8 , , .4 , , .4 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 14 , , 0 , , 10.4 , , .343 , , .286 , , .600 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .6 , , .3 , , 2.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 202 , , 8 , , 12.8 , , .428 , , .357 , , .718 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .4 , , .3 , , 4.6

Playoffs

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2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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, 11 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .333 , , .000 , , .500 , , .3 , , .3 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 1.7 , , .500 , , — , , — , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 8.3 , , .143 , , .200 , , .500 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .3 , , .7 , , 1.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 5 , , 0 , , 5.8 , , .333 , , .000 , , — , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 22 , , 0 , , 4.2 , , .300 , , .091 , , .500 , , .5 , , .1 , , .1 , , .2 , , 1.0

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;",

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

, 31 , , 29 , , 24.2 , , .337 , , .299 , , .682 , , 4.2 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .7 , , 10.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;",

, 19 , , 18 , , 25.4 , , .337 , , .277 , , .772 , , 5.6 , , .9 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Iowa State , 32 , , 0 , , 16.4 , , .406 , , .217 , , .767 , , 2.9 , , .7 , , .4 , , .5 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", Iowa State , 35 , , 35 , , 31.1 , , .478 , , .371 , , .736 , , 5.0 , , 1.5 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , 12.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 136 , , 56 , , 20.6 , , .469 , , .382 , , .789 , , 2.7 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .2 , , 8.8

Personal life

Nader moved with his family to the United States at the age of 3 and considers

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a Village (United States), village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's dow ...

his hometown. He majored in liberal studies at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

. He is a native

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

speaker, only becoming fluent in English at the age of eight or nine.

References

External links

Iowa State Cyclones bio

ESPN.com profile

CBSSports profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nader, Abdel 1993 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American men's basketball players Basketball players from Cook County, Illinois Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Egyptian emigrants to the United States Egyptian men's basketball players Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball players Maine Red Claws players Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball players Oklahoma City Blue players Oklahoma City Thunder players Sportspeople from Skokie, Illinois Phoenix Suns players Power forwards Small forwards South East Melbourne Phoenix players Basketball players from Alexandria 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Egyptian sportsmen