Assem Ahmed Marei (

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 ...

: عاصم مرعي) is an Egyptian 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 for Al Ahli Tripoli of the

Basketball Africa League The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is the premier men's basketball league in Africa. Founded in 2019, the league was established and is co-organized by NBA Africa and the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Each season typically r ...

(BAL). He also represents the senior Egyptian national team internationally. Marei first played for Egyptian side

Zamalek SC Zamalek Sporting Club (), commonly referred to as Zamalek, is an List of football clubs in Egypt, Egyptian Club based in Cairo, Egypt. The club is best known for its professional men's Association football, football team, which plays in the Egy ...

, before being recognized by other leagues at the FIBA U-19 world Championship. He averaged 3rd most points per game, most steals per game, and 2nd most rebounds in the tournament right after

Jonas Valančiūnas Jonas Valančiūnas ( ; ; born 6 May 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 NBA ...

. Marei played for

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

side

Minnesota State Mavericks The Minnesota State Mavericks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Minnesota State University, Mankato. The school's athletic program includes 21 varsity sports teams. More than 600 students participate each year in athletics ...

for a scholarship at the Minnesota State University.

Early life

Marei was born on June 16, 1992, from parents who were both former basketball players at

. His father, Ahmed Marei, who played pivot as well, competed for the Egyptian Olympic team at the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

and averaged 2.3 points per game. Marei started playing basketball at the age of 8 after his father encouraged both him and his brother to play the sport. Marei joined the national team at the age of 16.

Professional career

Zamalek SC (2010–2011)

Marei played for his home club

Zamalek Zamalek ( , ''al zamalek'') is a ''qism'' (ward) within the West District (''hayy gharb'') in the Western Area of Cairo, Egypt. It is an affluent district on a man-made island which is geologically a part of the west bank of the Nile River, wit ...

until 2011, when he left for the Minnesota State University.

Šiauliai (2015–2016)

In September 2015, Marei signed with

BC Šiauliai BC Šiauliai () is the professional basketball club of Šiauliai, Lithuania. The club competes in the Lithuanian Basketball League. It has won the 3rd place award (behind Lithuanian basketball giants BC Lietuvos Rytas, Lietuvos Rytas and BC Žalgi ...

of the Lithuanian LKL.

Medi Bayreuth (2016–2018)

On June 17, 2016, Marei signed with

Medi Bayreuth Medi Bayreuth, official stylized as medi bayreuth, is a German professional basketball club that is based in Bayreuth, Germany. It was re-founded as BBC Bayreuth in 1999. The team plays in the ProA, the second-highest division of basketball in Ge ...

of the German

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

(BBL). He re-signed with the team on May 22, 2017.

Pınar Karşıyaka (2018–2019)

On July 19, 2018, Marei signed with

Pınar Karşıyaka Pınar is a common feminine Turkish given name A Turkish name consists of an ''ad'' or an ''isim'' (given name; plural ''adlar'' and ''isimler'') and a ''soyadı'' or ''soyisim'' (surname). Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While th ...

of the Turkish

Basketball Super League 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 ...

(BSL). He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2018–19 season after averaging 17.4 points and 9.6 rebounds in the regular season.

Bamberg (2019–2020)

On July 21, 2019, Marei signed a two-year contract with German powerhouse

Brose Bamberg Bamberg Baskets is a German professional basketball team from Bamberg, Franconia/North Bavaria. The club has won the German Championship title nine times and the German Cup six times. The club currently plays in the German top tier Basketball ...

. Marei averaged 10.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

Metropolitans 92 (2020)

On September 21, 2020, Marei signed with

Metropolitans 92 Metropolitans 92 is a French professional basketball club that is based in Levallois-Perret, in the Paris metropolitan area. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the French basketball league system, highest-tier level in French basketball. ...

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 ...

Galatasaray (2020–2021)

On December 29, 2020, Marei signed with

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL).

Changwon LG Sakers (2021–2025)

On June 17, 2021, Marei signed with

Changwon LG Sakers Changwon LG Sakers are a professional basketball team located in the city of Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. They play in the Korean Basketball League (KBL), and their home arena is Changwon Gymnasium which has a capacity for ...

of the Korean Basketball League (KBL). He helped Changwon win the 2024–25 KBL season championship, the first title in the team's 28-year history.

Al Ahli Tripoli (2025–present)

In May 2025, Marei joined the Libyan champions Al Ahli Tripoli for the

(BAL). He helped Al Ahli win its first ever BAL championship. On June 14, 2025, Marei played a crucial role in the championship game, as he had a double-double of 22 points and 19 rebounds in the final game against Petro de Luanda. He also finished the season as the league's leading rebounder with 12.4 per game.

International career

Marei played at the

AfroBasket 2011 AfroBasket 2011 was the 26th FIBA Africa Championship, played under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Basketball, the basketball sport governing body, and the African zone thereof. At stake is the berth allocated to Africa in the ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

with

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Marei led the AfroBasket 2013 in rebounding, averaging 11.6 per game. He was also named to the AfroBasket All-Tournament Team. AfroBasket 2013: Angola reclaims African title

Honours

Egyptian senior national team

* AfroBasket 2013 All-Tournament Team * AfroBasket 2013 Rebounding leader

Egyptian junior national team

* 2011 U-19 World championship Steals leader

NSIC

2012–13 season *''Second Team All-NSIC, NSIC All-Tournament Team, NCAA All-Central Region Team, 2012 NSIC Winter All-Academic Team'' 2013–14 season *''First Team All-NSIC, DII Bulletin All-American Honorable Mention, NSIC All-Tournament Team'' 2014–15 season *''First Team All-NSIC, Daktronics Central Region First Team, NABC Central Region First Team''

References

External links

*
RealGM profile

Minnesota State Mavericks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marei, Assem 1992 births Living people 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players 21st-century Egyptian sportsmen Al Ahli Tripoli basketball players BC Šiauliai players Bamberg Baskets players Centers (basketball) Changwon LG Sakers players Egyptian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Egyptian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Egyptian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Egyptian men's basketball players Expatriate basketball people in South Korea Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players Karşıyaka basketball players Medi Bayreuth players Metropolitans 92 players Minnesota State Mavericks men's basketball players Sportspeople from Giza Zamalek SC basketball players