Former Palestinian NBA Hopeful Sakakini Joins Venezuelan Club
Palestinian forward Sani Sakakini celebrates during his team’s FIBA Asia Cup game in 2015BY: David DeMaria/Contributing Writer
After playing his first three professional seasons with Jordanian club Al-Riyadi Amman, Palestinian power forward Sani Sakakini entered the 2010 NBA draft, hoping to become the first Palestinian to play in the league. He wasn’t selected, but that hasn’t stopped the 6’8” basketball player from keeping his dream of playing in the NBA alive.
After playing three more seasons with Al-Riyadi, Sakakini made a brief appearance with the Chinese club, Beikong Fly Dragons, in 2011 before landing with Qingdao Doubklestar Eagles, also of China’s CBA. He played there until 2014, at which point he transferred to the Sichuan Blue Whales.
Sakakini concluded his first tenure in the CBA with Jiangsu Monkey King, averaging a stellar 19.3 points and 12.5 rebounds per game over the course of his stay in China. Sakakini posted a career high of 48 points and 22 rebounds in Jiangsu Monkey King’s win over Tianjin Gold Lions in November of 2015.
Sakakini also played a few games with Sarriyet Ramallah of Palestine’s PBBA, helping the club win the championship, as well as Lebanese squad Hoops Club in 2014, and Jordanian club Orthodox in 2015, where he won the Jordanian Premiere League Title. He also had a brief stint with Lebanese LBL club Champville SC in 2016. Sakakini averaged 18.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game while playing in Lebanon.
Sakakini returned to China to play for the Tianjin Ronggang Gold Lions for the 2016-17 season before signing with Venezuelan club Tortamundo de Carabobo, where he will play the 2017-18 season.
Though undersized for a power forward at 6’8”, Sakakini’s heart and competitive spirit make him a formidable player in any contest. His biggest contributions as a player have been with the Palestinian national team, where he helped them qualify for the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship (now the FIBA Asia Cup) for the first time in the team’s history. Sakakini averaged 22.4 points and 12.6 rebounds per game during the tournament, helping the Palestinians win Group B and advance to the second round, after earning victories against the Philippines, Kuwait, and Honk Kong.
Sakakini hails from the city of Ramallah, Palestine, and is the son of former Palestinian player and coach George Sakakini. His younger brother Salim also plays for the Palestinian national team. He is married to Rubi Habash, the point guard of the Jordanian women’s national team.
Though hailing from such close proximity to Israel, no Israeli club has ever reached out to Sakakini, even though he could be one of the best players in the league. Due to the political turmoil between Israel and Palestine, no Israeli club has ever signed a Palestinian.
According to Palestinian national team member, and former University of Minnesota forward, Jamal Abu-Shamala, it’s Sakakini’s work ethic that has made him such a successful commodity.
“I’m sure his work ethic is from what he dealt with growing up, but he doesn’t say much about it,” Abu-Shamala told The Guardian. “It struck me that Sani has found an opportunity in basketball and run with it.”
Regarding the political situation between Israel and Palestine, Sakakini is soft-spoken, telling The Guardian, “I can’t talk for everyone, I can only talk for me, I want to live in peace. This conflict, this fight it’s not for us.”
In the same conversation, Sakakini mentioned, “For me, I play for fun and I play to win. I mean it’s a motivation for myself that I have to accomplish something and I’m not going to be done until I do this.”
Whether he makes it to the NBA or not, Sakakini has already accomplished more than any other Palestinian in his sport. Having blazed a trail for the future, basketball lovers can only imagine that more Palestinians will follow in his footsteps.
