Ronald Fred Seikaly is a Lebanese and American former professional basketball player.
35 Facts About Rony Seikaly
2.
Rony Seikaly was one of the first internationally born players to make an impact on American basketball.
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Rony Seikaly was considered one of the top college players from the Syracuse basketball program, Seikaly's stellar offense and defense placed him among the school's all-time leaders in rebounds, points and blocks, while earning several nationally recognized awards and honors.
4.
Rony Seikaly earned the 1990 NBA Most Improved Player Award and later played for the Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic and New Jersey Nets and in Spain with FC Barcelona.
5.
Rony Seikaly was part of the United States national basketball team during the 1986 FIBA World Championship, winning gold.
6.
In 1981, when Rony Seikaly was 16, the Panathinaikos basketball player Takis Koroneos took note of him, after he purchased a pair of large basketball sneakers in Koroneos' athletics store.
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Rony Seikaly continued to train and practice with Panathinaikos until 1983.
8.
In 1983, Rony Seikaly moved from Greece to the United States and began attending Syracuse University in central New York, where he played college basketball.
9.
Rony Seikaly played center for the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team.
10.
Rony Seikaly led his Syracuse team to the 1987 NCAA Tournament championship finals against the Indiana Hoosiers during his junior year, after averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds per game throughout the tournament.
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Rony Seikaly was an All-American, and was named to the John R Wooden All-American Team.
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Rony Seikaly graduated from Syracuse as the school's all-time leading rebounder, second in school history in blocked shots, and fourth in school history in scoring.
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Rony Seikaly was named to the Orange's All 20th Century Team, and his number 4 jersey has been retired and raised to the rafters at the Carrier Dome.
14.
Rony Seikaly was taken by the Miami Heat with the 9th pick in the first round of the 1988 NBA draft.
15.
On November 2,1994, Rony Seikaly was traded to the Golden State Warriors.
16.
The Magic had been a dominant Eastern Conference team, but lost superstar center Shaquille O'Neal, and Rony Seikaly was brought in to fill the void.
17.
Rony Seikaly averaged 16 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in his stint in Orlando.
18.
Rony Seikaly holds NBA career averages of 14.7 points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game, and 1.3 blocks per game.
19.
In 2000, Rony Seikaly moved to the Spanish ACB League club Barcelona.
20.
Rony Seikaly averaged 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game, in 24.5 minutes played per game.
21.
Rony Seikaly first began training and practicing with the senior Greek national team, in 1983, at the age of 18.
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Rony Seikaly was then able to represent Team USA at both the 1986 Goodwill Games, and the 1986 FIBA World Championship.
23.
Rony Seikaly asked FIBA to grant him permission to represent the Lebanese national team.
24.
FIBA granted the request, and Rony Seikaly was thus able to represent Lebanon.
25.
Rony Seikaly averaged 30 points and 20 rebounds in those games.
26.
Rony Seikaly has been producing and working in the genres of house, deep house, tech house and techno, and has played in many of the clubbing meccas across the globe.
27.
Rony Seikaly has ran his own radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio called SugarFreeRadio which aired four days per week and was a resounding success since 2012.
28.
Rony Seikaly speaks four languages fluently: English, Greek, Arabic, and French.
29.
Rony Seikaly owns a villa in Mykonos, Greece, and he still vacations there.
30.
When Magic Johnson returned to the NBA HIV-positive, and there was opposition to his inclusion in the league, because of his health status, Rony Seikaly challenged him to a game of one-on-one, to show everyone that HIV is not contagious by touch.
31.
Rony Seikaly owns and runs a multi-million dollar real estate investment company.
32.
Rony Seikaly was formerly married to Mexican model Elsa Benitez, the 2001 and 2006 cover girl for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues.
33.
Since July 2015, Rony Seikaly has been married to Brazilian fashion blogger and model Martha Graeff, to whom he became engaged on the Greek island of Mykonos.
34.
Rony Seikaly is involved in many charities, such as the Miami Heat's Corporate Education and "Shoot for the Stars" programs, and the Make A Wish Foundation.
35.
Revenues from the sale of his 2012 album, Nervous Nitelife Presents Rony Seikaly, went to the Children's Department at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Foundation in Miami.