Tunisia's Salah Mejri says NBA Abu Dhabi Games can inspire region's next superstar

Tunisian basketball star Salah Mejri made it to the NBA the hard way – first facing LeBron James and Co as a 29-year-old rookie.

Now the 7ft 2in centre is hoping he can inspire an easier route to the sport's best league for the Mena region's most talented young players.

Mejri, 36, the only Tunisian to reach the NBA, played four seasons with the Dallas Mavericks alongside legendary German forward Dirk Nowitzki and later young Slovenian star Luka Doncic.

The NBA will return to Abu Dhabi in October for two pre-season games between the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves on October 5 and 7, following last season’s successful visit.

The NBA said 120 international players from 40 countries and six continents began the 2022/23 season on its rosters.

But only Egyptian forward Abdel Nader represented a country from the Mena region, playing a role off the bench for Kevin Durant’s Phoenix Suns.

And as the best-of-seven NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat gets under way, Mejri said the NBA Abu Dhabi Games could provide the perfect catalyst for more future Mena stars to reach the sport’s top level.

He has helped run camps for young players in countries around the region to spot potential talent that could be attractive to US scouts.

Mejri, playing for Tunisia against Brazil in 2021, chose representing his country in the Olympics over an NBA try-out early in his career. AFP

“The NBA is coming to Abu Dhabi,” Mejri told The National. “It's great [for the region]. When you get good coverage of basketball, people will like it more.

“We've been working with the NBA doing camps with scouts and coaches in the region. I've been running camps in Tunisia, my country of course. We did it in Egypt, we did it in