Alaa Abdelnaby (; born June 24, 1968) is an Egyptian-American former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

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. He played college basketball for the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

followed by a five-year

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) career, and then stints in various other leagues. Abdelnaby is one of two Egyptian-born players in the history of the NBA, along with Abdel Nader. Abdelnaby works as a basketball broadcaster and analyst for NBCS Philadelphia,

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports ...

, and

Westwood One Radio Westwood may refer to: Companies and brands *Westwood, Baillie, 19th-century engineering and shipbuilding company, London *Westwood One (1976–2011), a former American radio network based in New York City *Westwood One, an American radio and medi ...

Early life

Abdelnaby was 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, and moved to the United States with his family in 1971 at the age of two. His father was an engineer and his mother was a computer analyst who had moved to find better jobs. His family became American citizens. Abelnaby was raised in Nutley and Bloomfield, New Jersey, and played on the Bloomfield High School basketball team. Abdelnaby was selected as a standout American high school athlete as both a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

and a ''Parade'' All-American.

College career

Abdelnaby played at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

from 1986 to 1990. He had a breakout year as a senior when he averaged 14.9 points and 6.7 rebounds during the regular season. Abdelnaby was a third-team all-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) selection as a senior. He had a series of widely publicized off-court problems during his early seasons, including an accident where he drove his car into a tree on campus. Abdelnaby commented on Duke University's academic requirements: "The only way I can make five A's is when I sign my name."

Professional career

Abdelnaby was selected by 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 ...

of the

with the 25th pick of the 1990 NBA draft, and he spent five years in the league, playing for Portland as well as 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 ...

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), ...

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

, and

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

but he never played for that franchise. After leaving the NBA, Abdelnaby played for the

Papagou BC Papagou B.C., or Papagou Athens B.C. (alternate spelling: Papagos) is a Greek professional basketball club that was founded in 1976. The team is located in Papagou, Attica, Greece. The club's full name is Athlitikos Syllogos Papagou Athens Basketb ...

(Greece) (1995–1996), the

Omaha Racers The Omaha Racers were an American minor league basketball team based in Omaha, Nebraska. The franchise played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1989 to 1997. The team's franchise linage started in 1982 as the Wisconsin Flyers ...

( CBA) (1996–1997),

Olympique Antibes Olympique Antibes, in full ''Olympique d'Antibes Juan-les-Pins'' and branded as Antibes Sharks, is a basketball club from the city of Antibes, France. Established in 1933, the club's men's senior team currently plays in LNB Pro B, the French seco ...

(France) (1997–1998), and the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a landlocked state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west; the state s ...

(CBA) (1999–2000).

Transactions

*1990, June 27 – First round, 25th pick of the

in the 1990 NBA draft *1992, July 1 – Traded for

' rights to Tracy Murray *1992, December 4 – Traded for

' rights to

Jon Barry Jon Alan Barry (born July 25, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player and television analyst for American Broadcasting Company, ABC and ESPN. Barry is currently the lead analyst for NBA_on_ESPN_Radio, ESPN Radio's coverage of ...

*1994, July 26 –

Free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

, signed by the

*1995, March 21 – Released by the Sacramento Kings *1995, March 24 – Free agent, signed by the

to a 10-day contract *1995, April 3 – Re-signed by the Philadelphia 76ers to a second 10-day contract *1995, April 12 – Released by the Philadelphia 76ers *1995, October 6 – Free agent, signed by the

to a one-year contract *1995, October 18 – Released by the Golden State Warriors

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" , Portland , 43 , , 0 , , 6.7 , , .474 , , .000 , , .568 , , 2.1 , , .3 , , .1 , , .3 , , 3.1 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" , Portland , 71 , , 1 , , 13.2 , , .493 , , .000 , , .752 , , 3.7 , , .4 , , .4 , , .2 , , 6.1 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 12 , , 0 , , 13.3 , , .464 , , .000 , , .750 , , 3.1 , , .8 , , .2 , , .3 , , 5.3 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , 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 ...

, 63 , , 52 , , 18.3 , , .525 , , .000 , , .760 , , 4.8 , , .3 , , .3 , , .4 , , 8.2 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

, 13 , , 0 , , 12.2 , , .436 , , .000 , , .640 , , 3.5 , , .2 , , .2 , , .2 , , 4.9 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, 51 , , 0 , , 9.3 , , .532 , , .000 , , .571 , , 2.1 , , .3 , , .3 , , .2 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .091 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.7 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 256 , , 53 , , 12.5 , , .502 , , .000 , , .701 , , 3.3 , , .3 , , .3 , , .2 , , 5.7

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, align="left" , Portland , 5 , , 0 , , 2.6 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , .6 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .8 , - , align="left" ,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, align="left" , Portland , 8 , , 0 , , 3.1 , , .500 , , .000 , , .500 , , .5 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.5 , - , align="left" ,

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, align="left" ,

, 4 , , 4 , , 17.0 , , .458 , , .000 , , .000 , , 3.3 , , .3 , , .0 , , .3 , , 5.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 17 , , 4 , , 6.2 , , .450 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , .0 , , .1 , , 2.2

Broadcasting career

Abdelnaby was approached by the NBA to broadcast the 1995 NBA All-Star Game for an Arabic-language television network as he was the only Arabic speaker in the league. He began broadcasting with Orbit Satellite Television and later worked for other Arabic channels. Abdelnaby serves as the color analyst for the

, working alongside play-by-play commentator Kate Scott (

NBC Sports Philadelphia NBC Sports Philadelphia is an American regional sports network owned by the NBC Sports Group unit of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by locally based cable television provider Comcast (and owns a controlling 75% interest), and the Phila ...

). He is also a

college basketball in-studio analyst and provides color commentary for on-site

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

basketball games. Additionally, Abdelnaby does color commentary for

Personal life

Abdelnaby is a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

References

NBA.com The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

*
Alaa Abdelnaby
at

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdelnaby, Alaa 1968 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Alexandria Bloomfield High School (New Jersey) alumni Boston Celtics players Centers (basketball) College basketball announcers in the United States Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players Egyptian emigrants to the United States Egyptian men's basketball players Idaho Stampede (CBA) players McDonald's High School All-Americans Milwaukee Bucks players Muslims from New Jersey NBA broadcasters Olympique Antibes basketball players Omaha Racers players Papagou B.C. players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Sportspeople from Bloomfield, New Jersey Basketball players from Essex County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Nutley, New Jersey Philadelphia 76ers announcers Philadelphia 76ers players Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards Sacramento Kings players 20th-century American sportsmen