Salah Mejri (; born June 15, 1986) is a Tunisian former 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 represented the senior Tunisian national basketball team internationally. Standing at , he played at the center position. After a successful career in Europe, Mejri was the first (and so far, only) Tunisian

NBA 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 ...

player when he joined the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

in 2015 as a 29-year-old rookie. He stayed in the NBA for four seasons before returning with the Real Madrid in the 2019 offseason.

Professional career

Early career

Mejri started playing basketball at the age of 20 for

Étoile Sportive du Sahel Étoile Sportive du Sahel (), known as ES Sahel or simply ESS for short, is a Tunisian football club based in Sousse in the Sahel, Tunisia, Sahel region of Tunisia. Their home stadium, Sousse Olympic Stadium, has a capacity of 50,000 spectators ...

in the Tunisian Basketball League. In September 2010, he signed a two-year contract with the Antwerp Giants of the Belgian League, and in August 2012, he moved to the Spanish League to play with Obradoiro CAB. In May 2013, he was named the Spanish League's Rising Star.

Real Madrid

On July 8, 2013, Mejri signed with the Spanish club

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. He became the first Tunisian player in the history of Real Madrid and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. In the 2014–15 season, Real Madrid won the EuroLeague championship, after defeating

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

, by a score of 78–59, in the

EuroLeague Finals The EuroLeague Finals are the championship finals of the EuroLeague competition. The EuroLeague is European professional club basketball pyramid, the highest level tier, and most important professional sports, professional sports club, club bask ...

. Real Madrid eventually finished the season by also winning the Spanish League championship, after defeating

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

3–0 in the league's finals series. Real Madrid thus won the triple crown that season.

Dallas Mavericks

On July 30, 2015, Mejri signed with the

. On October 25, 2015, it was announced that Mejri had made the Mavericks' 2015–16 opening-night roster. Three days later, he made his debut for the Mavericks, becoming the first Tunisian to appear in an NBA game. He played in five of the team's first eight games to begin the season, before not playing again until January 13, 2016. With the team's regular starters all rested for their match-up with 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 ...

, Mejri managed 25 minutes off the bench, and recorded 17 points and 9 rebounds in a 108–89 loss to the Thunder. On January 24, with starting center Zaza Pachulia out injured, Mejri made just his eighth appearance for the Mavericks and started in place of Pachulia. In 29 minutes of action, he recorded 10 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks in a 115–104 loss to the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

. On March 20, he recorded 13 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks in 32 minutes off the bench in a 132–120 overtime win over 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 ...

. During his rookie season, he received multiple assignments to the Texas Legends, the Mavericks' D-League affiliate. On June 30, 2016, Mejri underwent arthroscopic surgery for a right knee debridement. On February 1, 2017, he had 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in a 113–95 win over the

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 ...

. He was re-signed by the Mavericks on August 3, 2018, to a one-year-contract. He was waived on February 7, 2019, to open up a roster spot for

Zach Randolph Zachary McKenley Randolph (born July 16, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Z-Bo", the 2-time NBA All-Star played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans men's basketball, Michigan State Spartans bef ...

who the Mavericks acquired in a trade, but brought back three days later after Randolph was waived.

Return to Real Madrid

On October 10, 2019, Mejri returned to Spanish

club

for the rest of the season. He did not play in the ACB final tournament and was replaced by Juan Nunez.

China

In September 2020, Mejri signed a one-year contract with Beijing Royal Fighters.

Kuwait

On September 16, 2021, Mejri signed in Kuwait with Al-Jahra of the Kuwaiti Division I Basketball League.

Beirut Club

On April 14, 2022, Mejri signed in Lebanon for Beirut Club of the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is recognized as the top-tier professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketb ...

Kazma

In March 2023, Mejri made his debut for Kazma of Kuwait in the West Asia Super League (WASL), recording 19 points and 17 rebounds in a win over Shabab Al Ahli. On 9 February 2024, Mejri announced his retirement from professional basketball.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 34 , , 6 , , 11.7 , , .628 , , .000 , , .587 , , 3.6 , , .3 , , .2 , , 1.1 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 73 , , 11 , , 12.4 , , .642 , , .333 , , .590 , , 4.2 , , .2 , , .4 , , .8 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 61 , , 1 , , 12.0 , , .642 , , .000 , , .576 , , 4.0 , , .6 , , .4 , , 1.1 , , 3.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 4 , , 11.1 , , .491 , , .324 , , .625 , , 3.6 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .7 , , 3.9 , -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 204 , , 22 , , 11.9 , , .603 , , .293 , , .590 , , 4.0 , , .5 , , .4 , , .9 , , 3.4

Playoffs

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

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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

, 4 , , 1 , , 19.0 , , .700 , , .000 , , .417 , , 3.3 , , .3 , , .8 , , 1.3 , , 4.8 , -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 4 , , 1 , , 19.0 , , .700 , , .000 , , .417 , , 3.3 , , .3 , , .8 , , 1.3 , , 4.8

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3",

, 26 , , 2 , , 10.1 , , .603 , , .667 , , .545 , , 2.9 , , .1 , , .4 , , 1.1 , , 3.5 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2014–15† , 9 , , 0 , , 9.6 , , .600 , , .000 , , .476 , , 2.3 , , .1 , , .4 , , .8 , , 4.4 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , 6 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , , , .2 , , 1.0 , , 1.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 41 , , 2 , , 9.3 , , .598 , , .400 , , .533 , , 2.5 , , .1 , , .4 , , .9 , , 3.3 , , 4.9

National team career

Mejri is a member of the senior men's Tunisian national basketball team. He played center for the team in the 2009 FIBA Africa Championship, and helped the team to the bronze medal, and its first-ever trip to the

FIBA World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's global governing body. It takes place every four ye ...

. In 2011, Mejri was named

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

, as Tunisia won the 2011 FIBA Africa Championship, and received an invitation to the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. There, the team finished 0–5; however, he led all competitors in blocked shots, with 17, despite only playing in 5 matches (some teams played in as many as 8 matches).

Awards and Individual Honors

* MVP of AfroBasket 2011 * Named in the All-Star Five (Center) of AfroBasket 2011 * Best Shot Blocker of AfroBasket 2011

References

External links

*
Salah Mejri
at acb.com
Salah Mejri
at euroleague.net *
archive
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mejri, Salah 1986 births Living people 2010 FIBA World Championship players 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Al-Jahra SC basketball players Antwerp Giants players Basketball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Beirut Club players Centers (basketball) Competitors at the 2013 Mediterranean Games Dallas Mavericks players Étoile Sportive du Sahel basketball players Expatriate basketball people in the United States Kazma SC basketball players Liga ACB players Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Tunisia Mediterranean Games medalists in basketball Obradoiro CAB players Olympic basketball players for Tunisia People from Jendouba Governorate Real Madrid Baloncesto players Texas Legends players Tunisian expatriate basketball people in Belgium Tunisian expatriate basketball people in Spain Tunisian expatriate basketball people in Kuwait Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Tunisian men's basketball players Tunisian Muslims Undrafted NBA players Beijing Royal Fighters players