Mark Steven Lyons (born July 4, 1989) is an 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 for

Al Ahly Al-Ahly Sporting Club (), commonly known as Al-Ahly, is an Egyptian professional sports club based in Cairo, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team which currently plays in the Egyptian Premier League, the highest ...

of the Egyptian Basketball Premier League and 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 played college basketball for Xavier and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

before playing professionally in countries including

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, Russia,

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

College career

Lyons

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his freshman year at Xavier. In three seasons at Xavier, Lyons was on two Sweet 16 teams and two

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...

champions and scored almost 1,200 career points. As a junior, Lyons averaged 15.1 points and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 39.2 percent from behind the arc. He was suspended for two games due to his involvement in the

2011 Crosstown Shootout brawl The 2011 Crosstown Shootout brawl, nicknamed the Crosstown Punch-Out, was a bench-clearing brawl that took place at the end of the 2011 edition of the Crosstown Shootout college basketball game between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and t ...

. In May 2012, Lyons announced that he was transferring to

for his final collegiate season. Arizona's coach,

Sean Miller Sean Edward Miller (born November 17, 1968) is an American college basketball coach who currently serves as head coach at the Texas Longhorns men's basketball, University of Texas at Austin. He previously served as head coach at the Arizona Wil ...

, had previously coached Xavier and had recruited Lyons to the school. He was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on January 21, 2013. Lyons was selected to the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

All-Conference First Team in his only season at Arizona after averaging a team-high 14.9 points and 2.97 assists per game.

Professional career

2013–14 season

After going undrafted in the

2013 NBA draft The 2013 NBA draft was held on June 27, 2013, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including internation ...

, Lyons joined the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

for the 2013 NBA Summer League. On July 7, 2013, he signed a one-year deal with

Chorale Roanne Chorale Roanne Basket is a professional basketball club that is based in Roanne, France. The club plays in the first division LNB Pro A. Their home arena is Halle André Vacheresse. The club was founded in 1937 and the team's colors are blue and w ...

of the

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 ...

. However, on January 9, 2014, he parted ways with Roanne after appearing in 14 games. He later signed with

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

of Croatia for the rest of the season on February 10. In 14

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

games for Zadar, he averaged 17.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.

2014–15 season

On September 9, 2014, Lyons signed with

Spirou Charleroi Spirou Basket, commonly known simply as Spirou, is a Belgian professional basketball club that is located in Charleroi. The club competes in the BNXT League, the highest tier of basketball in Belgium. The club's home arena is the Spiroudome which ...

of the

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

. On October 7, 2014, Lyons parted ways with Charleroi before appearing in a game of them. One day later, Lyons signed a one-year deal with

Ironi Nahariya Ironi Nahariya Basketball Club () known for sponsorship reasons as Ironi Rain Nahariya () is a professional basketball club based in city of Nahariya in northern Israel. The team plays in the Liga Leumit (the second tier of Israeli basketball) and ...

of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

. On March 3, 2015, Lyons participated in the Israeli League All-Star game and won the Slam Dunk contest during the same event. In 33 games played for Nahariya, he led the league in scoring with 18.4 points, to go with 2.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

2015–16 season

On July 25, 2015, Lyons signed with Maccabi Rishon LeZion for the 2015–16 season. On January 31, 2016, Lyons recorded a double-double with a season-high 29 points and 11 assists, shooting 12-of-20 from the field, along with three rebounds in a 94–100 loss to

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

. In 54 games played during the 2015–16 season, he averaged 16.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. Lyons won the 2016 Israeli League championship title with Rishon LeZion.

2016–17 season

On August 1, 2016, Lyons signed a one-year deal with Muratbey Uşak Sportif of the

Turkish Super League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The ...

. On December 8, 2016, he parted ways with Uşak after averaging 14.8 points and 6.9 assists in BSL and 16.1 points and 5.9 assists in the

FIBA Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefor ...

. On December 27, 2016, Lyons returned to Israel for a second stint, signing with

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv () is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as football, basketball, w ...

for the rest of the season. On February 19, 2017, Lyons recorded a season-high 35 points, shooting 8-of-11 from three-point range, along with four rebounds and six assists in a 92–71 win over his former team

. In 21 games played for Hapoel, he led the

in scoring for the second time in three years by averaging 20.1 points per game.

2017–18 season

On June 9, 2017, Lyons signed with

Guizhou White Tigers The National Basketball League () is a professional basketball minor league in China, called the Chinese Basketball League (CBL) before 2006. It is commonly known as the NBL, and this name (spelled out in letters) is often used even in Chinese. ...

of China for the 2017 NBL season. On August 13, 2017, Lyons recorded a career-high 60 points, shooting 12-of-18 from three-point range, along with eight assists in a 136–129 win over Henan. In 26 games played for Guizhou, he averaged 35.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. On July 15, 2017, Lyons returned to Turkey for a second stint, signing a one-year deal with

Gaziantep Basketbol Gaziantep Basketbol is a professional basketball team based in the city of Gaziantep in Turkey that plays in the Turkish Basketball First League (TBL). Their home arena is the Karataş Şahinbey Sport Hall with a capacity of 6,400 seats. Histo ...

. On October 28, 2017, Lyons recorded a season-high 30 points, shooting 11-of-17 from the field, along with five rebounds and three assists in a 118–119 double-overtime loss to

Eskişehir Basket Eskişehir Basket was a professional basketball team based in the city of Eskişehir in Turkey. Their home arena was the Anadolu Üniversitesi Sport Hall with a capacity of 5,000 seats. Founded in 2006, the club played in the highest tier Basket ...

. On January 17, 2018, Lyons parted ways with Gaziantep to join

Enisey The Yenisey or Yenisei ( ; , ) is the fifth-longest river system in the world, and the largest to drain into the Arctic Ocean. Rising in Mungaragiyn-gol in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course through Lake Baikal and the Krasnoyarsk Dam be ...

for the rest of the season.

2018–19 season

On August 9, 2018, Lyons signed a one-year deal with

Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut Al Riyadi Club Beirut (), commonly known simply as Al Riyadi, is a multi-sports club team based in Manara, a district in Beirut, Lebanon. Founded in 1934, the multi-sports club, which is mainly known for their basketball program, also plays p ...

of the Lebanese League. In 12 games played for Al Riyadi, he averaged an impressive 17.6 points per game, along with 3.1 assists per game. Lyons won the 2018 Lebanese Supercup title with Al Riyadi. On February 19, 2019, Lyons parted ways with Al Riyadi Beirut to join VL Pesaro of Italy for the rest of the season.

2019–20 season

On September 29, 2019, Lyons returned to

for a second stint, signing a one-year deal. He averaged 11.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

2020–21 season

On September 25, 2020, Lyons signed with the

Piratas de Quebradillas ''Piratas'' () is a Spanish adventure drama television series with comedy elements created by Carlos Portela and which stars Óscar Jaenada, Pilar Rubio and Silvia Abascal. It aired on Telecinco in 2011. Premise Set in the 18th century, the fi ...

of the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

. On March 3, 2021, Lyons signed with Greek club

Charilaos Trikoupis Charilaos Trikoupis (; 11 July 1832 – 30 March 1896) was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895. He is best remembered for introducing the vote of confidence in the Greek constitution, p ...

for the rest of the season, replacing Devonte Green. He averaged 13.6 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.1 rebounds per game.

2021–22 season

On July 30, 2021, Lyons signed with Balıkesir Büyükşehir Belediye of the

Turkish Basketball First League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

(TBL). He averaged 21.5 points, 6.4 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game. On February 22, 2022, Lyons signed with

Elitzur Ashkelon Elitzur Ashkelon () was a professional basketball team based in Ashkelon in south-west Israel. The team reached the quarterfinals of the EuroCup Challenge in 2006Israeli National League.

2023–24 season

For the 2023–24 season, Lyons joined the defending Egyptian champions

. He won the Egyptian SuperCup and Mortabet tournament earlier in 2023, then made his debut in the

(BAL) on April 19, 2024, when he scored 14 points in a 99–76 win over

City Oilers City Oilers is a basketball club based in Lugogo, Kampala, Uganda. The team competes in the Ugandan National Basketball League (NBL), where it has won 10 championships, the most in league history. The Oilers currently also play in the Basketball A ...

in the opening day of the 2024 season.

The Basketball Tournament

Mark Lyons played for Team Fancy in the 2018 edition of

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-invitation, single-elimination tournament, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, with the stakes being a cash prize (the most recent tournament in The Basketball Tournam ...

. In 2 games, he averaged 8 points, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 rebounds per game. Team Fancy reached the second round before falling to Boeheim's Army. Lyons is currently playing for Team Zip Em Up with other Xavier alumni in the 2021 tournament.

References

External links