 El Khatib as a guest ofMTV Lebanon in 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1979-01-01)1 January 1979 (age 46) Shheem,Lebanon |
| Listed height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 1997–present |
| Position | Small forward |
| Career history | |
| 1997–2004 | Sagesse |
| 2004–2005 | Al-Ittihad Aleppo |
| 2005–2006 | Sagesse |
| 2006–2007 | Blue Stars |
| 2007–2008 | Cherkaski Mavpy |
| 2008–2009 | Al Riyadi Beirut |
| 2009–2010 | Champville |
| 2010–2011 | Al Riyadi Beirut |
| 2011–2013 | Champville |
| 2013–2014 | Amchit |
| 2014–2015 | Foshan Long Lions |
| 2015 | Al Riyadi Beirut |
| 2015–2016 | Fujian Sturgeons |
| 2016–2017 | Homenetmen Beirut |
| 2017–2020 | Champville |
| 2022–2023 | Sagesse |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Fadi El Khatib (Arabic:فادي الخطيب; born 1 January 1979),[1] nicknamed the"Lebanese Tiger",[2] and "Abu Jihad" is a Lebanese former professionalbasketball 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 theLebanon national team that finished runners-up in theFIBA Asia Championship three times, in2001,2005 and2007. El Khatib also participated in theFIBA World Championship in2002,2006 and2010.
El Khatib began playing professionally in 1997, aged 17, atSagesse, staying with them until 2004.[3] He then moved for one year toAl-Ittihad Aleppo in Syria, before moving back to Sagesse in 2006.[3] With Sagesse, El Khatib won sevenLebanese Basketball League titles, twoArab Club titles, and threeFIBA Asia Champions Cup titles.[3]
Throughout his career, El Khatib also played for otherLebanese Basketball League teams such asAl Riyadi Beirut,Champville,Amchit, andHomenetmen Beirut.[3] Between 2015 and 2017, he played in China forFoshan Long Lions andFujian Sturgeons.[3] El Khatib then returned to Champville in 2017,[3] 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]
In 1999, El Khatib made his debut for theLebanon national team at the1999 ABC Championship; Lebanon reached the quarter-finals and finished in seventh place.[3] At the2001 ABC Championship, El Khatib led Lebanon to a second-place finish; he was named to the 2001 FIBA Asia All-Star Five.[3] With the runners-up finish, Lebanon qualified to the2002 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.[3]
At the2005 FIBA Asia Championship, El Khatib averaged 23.0 points per game, and helped Lebanon to reach the final; once again, Lebanon qualified to the2006 FIBA World Championship.[3] He scored 35 points in the opener againstVenezuela, and 29 in a 74–73 win againstFrance. Despite the two wins, Lebanon fell short of qualifying to the round of 16.[3] El Khatib led Lebanon to a third runners-up finish at the2007 FIBA Asia Championship; he averaged 28.4 points per game throughout the tournament, but lost toIran 74–69 in the final.[3]
El Khatib eventually participated with Lebanon at the Asia Championship in2009 and at the World Championship in2010. He would not participate for Lebanon until 2017, playing his last national-team games at the2017 FIBA Asia Cup.[3]
In July 2020, El Khatib obtainedTurkish citizenship by investment in the country. His son, Jihad El Khatib, joined Turkish clubFenerbahçe in October 2020.[7]
Domestic club
International club
National team
