# Al Riyadi Club Beirut

Al Riyadi Club Beirut (Arabic: نادي الرياضي بيروت, lit. 'Sporting Club Beirut'), commonly known simply as Al Riyadi, is a multi-sports club team based in Manara, a district in Beirut, Lebanon. Founded in 1934, the multi-sports club, which is mainly known for their basketball program, also plays ping-pong, martial arts, and other sports.
Al Riyadi is the most successful basketball team in Lebanese history, and one of the best in Asian basketball. Competing in the Lebanese Basketball League, Al Riyadi is the most decorated Lebanese basketball club, with 31 league titles, a joint-record three Basketball Champions League Asia titles, and five Arab Club Championships. Nicknamed "the Yellow Castle", basketball team plays its home games at the Saeb Salam Arena.

## History

Al Riyadi Club was founded in 1934 by Hussein Sejaan, Hassan Ladki, Fouad Zantout, Youssef Shaker, Mustafa Shaker, Zouheir Yatim, Helmi Chehab, and Wafic Nsouli, who formed the first basketball team.
The team played its first game against a foreign team in 1947, when Al Riyadi faced Turkish club Galatasaray, and lost the game 33–39. The game was attended by the first President of Lebanon Bechara El Khoury.
Al Riyadi launched its first women's basketball team in 1965. The club built its own sports arena, the Saeb Salam Arena, in 1991, helped by former President Tammam Salam.
In the 2023–24 season, Al Riyadi won its 31st league championship. On 1 June 2024, they won their first FIBA West Asia Super League championship. On June 15, Al Riyadi also won the 2024 Basketball Champions League Asia championship, their third Asian continental title. As champions, they qualified directly for the 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup, as the first Lebanese team in history to do so.

## Arenas and facilities

The Saeb Salam Arena was finished in 1991 and holds a capacity for 2,500 people.
Home arenas :
| Arena | Tenure |
| Rawshe | 1934–1947 |
| Sanayeh | 1947–1954 |
| Rawshe | 1954–1991 |
| Saeb Salam Arena | 1991–present |

## Achievements

The following is a list of achievements the club has won.

### Domestic

* Lebanese Basketball League
** Winners (31): 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024
* Lebanese Basketball Cup
** Winners (4): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2019
* Lebanese Basketball Supercup
** Winners (2): 2012, 2019

### International

* Basketball Champions League Asia
** Winners (3): 2011, 2017, 2024
* Arab Club Basketball Championship
** Winners (5): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010
* FIBA West Asia Super League
** Winners (1): 2023–24
** West Asia League winners (2): 2022–23, 2023–24
* WABA Champions Cup
** Winners (4): 1998, 2008, 2011, 2017

## Players
### Retired numbers

Al Riyadi retired numbers :
| N° | Player | Position | Tenure | Ceremony date |
| 4 | Jean Abdelnour | SF | 2009–2023 | 13 December 2023 |
| 6 | Ali Mahmoud | PG | 2004–2016, 2017–2019 | |
| 10 | Ismail Ahmad | C | 2000–01, 2004–17, 2018–20, 2022–present | |

### Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
| C | Iliman duop | Marwan Ziadeh | Ismail Ahmad |
| PF | Hayk Gyokchyan | Bilal Tabbara | |
| SF | | Édgar Sosa | |
| SG | Karim Zeinoun | Amir Saoud | Mohamad Kraidly |
| PG | Wael Arakji | Ali Mansour | |

### Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
* Criteria
* To appear in this section a player must have either:
* Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
* Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
* Played at least one official NBA match at any time.
* Jean Abdelnour
* Ismail Ahmad
* / Dalibor Bagarić
* Benoit Benjamin
* Rodney Buford
* Tony Dawson
* / Quincy Douby
* Fadi El Khatib
* Andre Emmett
* / Matt Freije
* Dion Glover
* Donté Greene
* Manny Harris
* Mike Harris
* Rick Hughes
* Orlando Johnson
* Ricky Ledo
* Zach Lofton
* / Ali Mahmoud
* / Thon Maker
* Randolph Morris
* Kevin Murphy
* Lee Nailon
* Julius Nwosu
* / Daniel Ochefu
* Aleksandar Radojević
* / Duop Reath
* Jamal Robinson
* Jonathon Simmons
* Willie Warren
* Loren Woods