Fadi El Khatib Explained

Fadi El Khatib
Position:Small forward
League:Lebanese Basketball League
Birth Date:18 December 1978
Birth Place:Shheem, Lebanon
Nationality:Lebanese
Height M:1.98
Weight Kg:99
Career Start:1997
Years1:1997–2004
Team1:Sagesse
Years2:2004–2005
Team2:Al-Ittihad Aleppo
Years3:2005–2006
Team3:Sagesse
Years4:2006–2007
Team4:Blue Stars
Years5:2007–2008
Team5:Cherkaski Mavpy
Years6:2008–2009
Team6:Al Riyadi Beirut
Years7:2009–2010
Team7:Champville
Years8:2010–2011
Team8:Al Riyadi Beirut
Years9:2011–2013
Team9:Champville
Years10:2013–2014
Team10:Amchit
Years11:2014–2015
Team11:Foshan Long Lions
Years12:2015
Team12:Al Riyadi Beirut
Years13:2015–2016
Team13:Fujian Sturgeons
Years14:2016–2017
Team14:Homenetmen Beirut
Years15:2017–2020
Team15:Champville
Years16:2022–2023
Team16:Sagesse
Highlights:

Fadi El Khatib (Arabic: فادي الخطيب; born January 1, 1979),[1] nicknamed the "Lebanese Tiger",[2] is a Lebanese former professional basketball player. El Khatib played for several teams in the Lebanese Basketball League, and also played abroad in Syria, Ukraine and China. He was also a member of the Lebanon national team that finished runners-up in the FIBA Asia Championship three times, in 2001, 2005 and 2007. El Khatib also participated in the FIBA World Championship in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

Professional career

El Khatib began playing professionally in 1997, aged 17, at Sagesse, staying with them until 2004.[3] He then moved for one year to Al-Ittihad Aleppo in Syria, before moving back to Sagesse in 2006. With Sagesse, El Khatib won seven Lebanese Basketball League titles, two Arab Club titles, and three FIBA Asia Champions Cup titles.

Throughout his career, El Khatib also played for other Lebanese Basketball League teams such as Al Riyadi Beirut, Champville, Amchit, and Homenetmen Beirut. Between 2015 and 2017, he played in China for Foshan Long Lions and Fujian Sturgeons. El Khatib then returned to Champville in 2017, playing there until his retirement in 2020.[4] In August 2022, El Khatib announced his return to Sagesse Club in a big announcement held in Hotel Le Gabriel Achrafieh in which attended his former coach Ghassan Sarkis and former teammate Elie Mechantaf.[5] He announced his final retirement in May 2023.[6]

National team career

In 1999, El Khatib made his debut for the Lebanon national team at the 1999 ABC Championship; Lebanon reached the quarter-finals and finished in seventh place. At the 2001 ABC Championship, El Khatib led Lebanon to a second-place finish; he was named to the 2001 FIBA Asia All-Star Five. With the runners-up finish, Lebanon qualified to the 2002 FIBA World Championship; despite Lebanon losing in the first round, El Khatib finished the tournament among the top ten scorers, with an average of 17.6 points per game.

At the 2005 FIBA Asia Championship, El Khatib averaged 23.0 points per game, and helped Lebanon to reach the final; once again, Lebanon qualified to the 2006 FIBA World Championship. He scored 35 points in the opener against Venezuela, and 29 in a 74–73 win against France. Despite the two wins, Lebanon fell short of qualifying to the round of 16. El Khatib led Lebanon to a third runners-up finish at the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship; he averaged 28.4 points per game throughout the tournament, but lost to Iran 74–69 in the final.

El Khatib eventually participated with Lebanon at the Asia Championship in 2009 and at the World Championship in 2010. He would not participate for Lebanon until 2017, playing his last national-team games at the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup.

Personal life

In July 2020, El Khatib obtained Turkish citizenship by investment in the country. His son, Jihad El Khatib, joined Turkish club Fenerbahçe in October 2020.[7]

Awards and honours

Domestic club

International club

National team

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Fadi El-Khatib, Lebanon. Player Profiles. Interbasket. 19 June 2012.
  2. Web site: 'Lebanese Tiger ' El Khatib cites the good, and bad from the win over Korea. fiba.basketball. 9 August 2017.
  3. Web site: Flojo . Enzo . June 15, 2020 . Asian Legends Series: Lebanon's Fadi El Khatib . July 23, 2022 . FIBA.
  4. Web site: 25 January 2020 . فادي الخطيب يعلن اعتزاله كرة السلة نهائيا . https://web.archive.org/web/20200420173057/https://arabia.eurosport.com/article/%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A9/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A/%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AE%D8%B7%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87-%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A9-%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%A7 . 2020-04-20 . 23 July 2022 . arabia.eurosport.com . ar.
  5. Web site: أحوال . 2022-08-04 . فادي الخطيب.. العودة إلى "الحكمة" . 2022-08-20 . أحوال ميديا . ar.
  6. Web site: نجم كرة السلة اللبنانية فادي الخطيب يعلن اعتزاله برسالة مؤثرة . alaraby.co.uk . ar . 24 May 2023 .
  7. Web site: Basket-Ball : Le Libanais Jihad Al-Khattib rejoint le Fenerbahce d'Istanbul . aa.com . fr . 21 October 2020 .