Salah Mejri

Salah Mejri (Arabic: صالح الماجري; born June 15, 1986) is a Tunisian professional basketball player for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He represents the senior Tunisian national basketball team internationally. Standing at 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m), he plays at the center position. Mejri was the first Tunisian (and only) NBA player when he joined the Mavericks in 2015 as a 29-year-old rookie and played 4 seasons in the NBA before returning with the Real Madrid in 2019 offseason.

Salah Mejri
Mejri while playing with Obradoiro in May 2013
No. 50 – Real Madrid
PositionCenter
LeagueLiga ACB
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1986-06-15) June 15, 1986
Oued Melliz, Tunisia
NationalityTunisian
Listed height7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2008 / Undrafted
Playing career2006–present
Career history
2006–2010Étoile Sportive du Sahel
2010–2012Antwerp Giants
2012–2013Obradoiro CAB
2013–2015Real Madrid
2015–2019Dallas Mavericks
2015–2016→Texas Legends
2019–presentReal Madrid
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Tunisia
FIBA Africa Championship
2011 Madagascar
2009 Libya
2015 Tunisia

Professional career

Early career

Mejri started playing basketball at the age of 20 for Étoile Sportive du Sahel in the Tunisian Basketball League.[1] 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.[2] In May 2013, he was named the Spanish League's Rising Star.[3]

Real Madrid

On July 8, 2013, Mejri signed with the Spanish club Real Madrid.[4] He became the first North African, MENA and Tunisian player in the history of Real Madrid and the EuroLeague. In the 2014–15 season, Real Madrid won the EuroLeague championship, after defeating Olympiacos, by a score of 78–59, in the EuroLeague Finals.[5] Real Madrid eventually finished the season by also winning the Spanish League championship, after defeating Barcelona 3–0 in the league's finals series. Real Madrid thus won the triple crown that season.[6]

Dallas Mavericks

On July 30, 2015, Mejri signed with the NBA's Dallas Mavericks.[7] On October 25, 2015, it was announced that Mejri had made the Mavericks' 2015–16 opening-night roster.[8] Three days later, he made his debut for the Mavericks, becoming the first Tunisian to appear in an NBA game.[9] 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, Mejri managed 25 minutes off the bench, and recorded 17 points and 9 rebounds in a 108–89 loss to the Thunder.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12] During his rookie season, he received multiple assignments to the Texas Legends, the Mavericks' D-League affiliate.[13]

On June 30, 2016, Mejri underwent arthroscopic surgery for a right knee debridement.[14] On February 1, 2017, he had 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in a 113–95 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.[15] He was re-signed by the Mavericks on August 3, 2018 to a one-year-contract.[16] He was waived on February 7, 2019 to open up a roster spot for Zach Randolph who the Mavericks acquired in a trade,[17] but brought back three days later after Randolph was waived.[18]

Return to Real Madrid

On October 10, 2019, Mejri returned to Spanish EuroLeague club Real Madrid for the rest of the season.[19][20] He did not play in the ACB final tournament and was replaced by Juan Nunez.[21]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

NBA

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Dallas 34611.7.628.000.5873.6.3.21.13.7
2016–17 Dallas 731112.4.642.333.5904.2.2.4.82.9
2017–18 Dallas 61112.0.642.000.5764.0.6.41.13.5
2018–19 Dallas 36411.1.491.324.6253.61.0.3.73.9
Career 2042211.9.603.293.5904.0.5.4.93.4

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016 Dallas 4119.0.700.000.4173.3.3.81.34.8
Career 4119.0.700.000.4173.3.3.81.34.8

EuroLeague
† Denotes seasons in which Mejri won the EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2013–14 Real Madrid 26210.1.603.667.5452.9.1.41.13.55.6
2014–15† Real Madrid 909.6.600.000.4762.3.1.4.84.44.8
Career 35210.0.602.500.5122.8.1.41.03.75.4

Tunisian national team

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.[22]

In 2011, Mejri was named MVP, as Tunisia won the 2011 FIBA Africa Championship, and received an invitation to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. 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).

References
  1. "Archive.FIBA.com Player Profile Salah MEJRI (TUN)". FIBA.com. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  2. "Obradoiro tabs big man Salah Mejri". Sportando.com. August 14, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  3. "Salah Mejri es el Jugador Revelación 2012–13". ACB.com (in Spanish). May 14, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  4. "Real Madrid announced Salah Mejri". Sportando.com. July 8, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  5. "Real Madrid is Euroleague champion for record ninth time!". euroleague.net. May 17, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  6. "Real Madrid make it 4 out of 4". Marca (in Spanish). Spain. June 24, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  7. "Mavs sign pick-and-roll threat Salah Mejri". Mavs.com. July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  8. "Salah Mejri, the center who made the Mavericks roster out of nowhere". mavsmoneyball.com. October 25, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  9. "8 Dallas players reach double figures, Mavs rout Suns 111–95". National Basketball Association. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  10. "Durant scores 29, Thunder beat Mavericks; Westbrook ejected". National Basketball Association. January 13, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  11. "Harden's triple-double leads Rockets over Mavericks 115–104". National Basketball Association. January 24, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  12. "Nowitzki, Williams lead Mavericks past Trail Blazers 132–120". National Basketball Association. March 20, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  13. "2015–16 NBA Assignments". National Basketball Association. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  14. "Mavs center Salah Mejri undergoes knee surgery". InsideHoops.com. June 30, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  15. "Curry, Mejri lead Mavericks to 113–95 win over 76ers". ESPN. February 1, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  16. "Mavericks re-sign center Salah Mejri". mavs.com. August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  17. "Mavericks acquire Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph". mavs.com. February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  18. "Mavs sign free agent center Salah Mejri on Sunday". mavs.com. February 10, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  19. "Official Announcement: Salah Mejri | Real Madrid CF". Real Madrid C.F. - Web Oficial. October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  20. "Salah Mejri in Real Madrid return | Real Madrid CF". Real Madrid C.F. - Web Oficial. October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  21. "Real center Salah Mejri out for ACB final tournament". Sportando. June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  22. "Archive.FIBA.com 2009 FIBA Africa Championship for Men". FIBA.com. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
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