Early life

Seikaly was born in Beirut, Lebanon. As a young child, Rony moved from Beirut to Greece, where he spent the rest of his youth. In Greece, he was known as Rony Sakalis (Greek: Ρόνι Σακαλής).

He attended and graduated from the American School, also known as ACS Athens. In addition to playing basketball, he also excelled in many different sports including volleyball, soccer, and track & field.

After being scouted by Panathinaikos player Takis Koroneos, Seikaly was selected to join Panathinaikos' men's senior team, and played with them in a tournament in Cyprus.

College basketball career

In 1984, Seikaly moved from Greece to the United States and began attending Syracuse University in central New York, where he played college basketball. He played center for the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team. He 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. He was an All-American, and was also named to the John R. Wooden All-American Team. He 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. At the time, he was only the second player to record 1,000 points and rebounds during his tenure at Syracuse. He was chosen on the Orange's All Century Team, and his number 4 jersey has been retired and raised to the rafters at the Carrier Dome.

NBA career

Miami Heat (1988-1994)

Seikaly was taken by the expansion team Miami Heat with the 9th pick in the first round of the 1988 NBA Draft. As well as being the franchise's first ever college draft pick, Seikaly became the first player born in Lebanon to compete in the NBA.

The rookie center quickly emerged not only as a pivotal player within the team, but also among the league's top centers. In his second season, he led the Heat in points (16.6), rebounds (10.4) and blocks (1.7) while placing sixth in the league in rebounding. At the conclusion of the season he was awarded the 1990 NBA Most Improved Player Award.

In the 1990-1991 season, Seikaly increased his rebounding average to 11.1 boards a game while maintaining his 16 points per game average and then they acquired other young players to serve as scoring options such as Glen Rice and Steve Smith. In the 1991-1992 season, Seikaly again averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds (6th in the league) and the Heat bolstered by his play and Rice's scoring led the team to 38 wins and the first playoff berth for the franchise. Despite the breakthrough, Miami was no match for the defending champion Chicago Bulls led by Michael Jordan, who swept the Heat in three games. For the series Seikaly averaged 19.1 points with 9.2 rebounds against the Bulls.

Seikaly increased his scoring to 17.3 and once again averaged 11.8 rebounds a game (8th in the league) during the 1992-1993 season. He managed to win the NBA player of the week after averaging 30 points and 20 Rebounds for the week of March 7. The following season featured increased scoring by Rice and Smith, and Seikaly averaged 15.1 points a game for third on the team while leading the team in rebounds with 10.3 boards a game. The Heat won 42 games, good enough to make the playoffs. Facing off against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round.

Seikaly's career with Miami saw him setting numerous team records, including blocks (8), rebounds (34) and double doubles. During his run with the Heat, he had the nickname "The Spin Doctor", due to his trademark low-post spin moves. On November 2, 1994, Seikaly was traded to the Golden State Warriors.

His career highs with the Heat are 40 points, 34 rebounds, 8 blocks, 8 assists, 5 steals

Golden State Warriors (1994-1996)

Seikaly only played in 36 games during the 1994-1995 season but started in all but one of those appearances averaging 12 points and 7 rebounds per game for the Warriors who were decimated by injuries. He would go on to start in 60 of 64 games in the 1995-1996 season, averaging 12 points and 7.8 rebounds but the Warriors once again were plagued by injuries and could not reach the post-season. In November 1996 he was once again traded, this time to the Orlando Magic.

Orlando Magic (1996-1998)

The Magic had been a dominant Eastern Conference team but lost superstar center Shaquille O'Neal, and Seikaly was brought in to fill the void. Despite playing alongside other veteran scoring options such as Horace Grant, Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott, Seikaly boosted his scoring to 17.3 points a game for second on the team behind all-star Anfernee Hardaway, and led the team in rebounds per game (9.5) and blocks (1.4). The Magic won 45 games and entered the playoffs as the 7th seed in the conference, facing off against Seikaly's old team in Miami who now featured all-star center Alonzo Mourning. Despite taking a 2-0 lead in Miami, the Magic responded with two wins at home to tie the series at 2 games apiece, but injuries forced Seikaly's out of the 4th and deciding 5th game in which the Heat won to advance.

Seikaly would start in 47 games to start the 1997-1998 season, but in February he was traded to the New Jersey Nets. He averaged 16 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in his stint in Orlando.

New Jersey Nets (1998-1999)

Following his arrival in New Jersey, Seikaly had a career ending foot injury and only played in 9 games to finish the 1998 season, and would only play in 9 games of the lockout shortened 1998-1999 season before retiring from the league. He holds NBA career averages of 14.7 points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game, and 1.29 blocks per game.

Music career

Rony Seikaly
Birth name	Ronald Seikaly
Born	(1965-05-10) 10 May 1965 (age 51)
Origin	Lebanon
Genres	House music, deep house, tech house and techno
Occupation(s)	DJ / Music producer
Years active	2005-present
Labels	Subliminal Records, Nervous Records, Stereo, Suara
Associated acts	Marco Carola, Erick Morillo, Guy Gerber, Seth Troxler
Website	ronyseikaly.com

Seikaly, an avid lover of music, had been DJing on and off, since he was the age of 14. After retiring from basketball, he developed his passion into a musical career as a professional DJ and a music producer. "Sports will always be my love. But music will always be my passion," he said. He also had his own studio in Florida. Seikaly has been producing and working in the genres of house, deep house, tech house and techno. He has played in all the major clubs in the world including Ibiza, New York, Toronto, LA and Miami.

He has released many EPs including, House Calls in 2010 East West EP in 2012 and East West EP volume 2 in 2014, Holdin On in 2015 "Signs EP" in 2015 and The Sword EP" in 2016 ". In 2012, he released a full mix album titled Nervous Nitelife Presents Rony Seikaly and has singles released on Suara, Yoshitoshi, Nervous, Stereo, Subliminal Records and many more.

He has his own very popular radio show on the massive "Sirius/Xm" satellite radio called SugarFreeRadio which airs every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Songs

• 2010: "Come with Me" (featuring Polina) (Subliminal Records)
• 2010: "Let You Go" (featuring Polina) (Subliminal Records)
• 2010: "Let You Go Part Two" (featuring Polina). Remix by Cedric Gervais (Subliminal Records)
• 2011: "Take Me Higher" (Subliminal Records)
• 2011: "The World Is Beautiful" (Subliminal Records)
• 2011: "Personal Stereo" (Swing Records)
• 2011: "Crazy Powder" (Nervous Inc)
• 2012: "MILF" (Juicy Records)
• 2012: "Funk The Munk" (Juicy Records)
• 2012: "Mood That I Love" (Nervous Records)
• 2012: "Desert Nights" (Nervous Records)
• 2012: "Oh Yeah" (Swing Records)
• 2012: "Perfect Match" (Swing Records)
• 2012: "Illusion" (Nervous Records)
• 2012: "Le Freak" (with Antranig) (Stereo Productions)
• 2012: "Welcome to the Machine" (Nervous Inc.)
• 2012: "Happy Trees" (Nervous Inc.)
• 2013: "You Make Me Feel" (with Jean Claude Ades) (Be Crazy Music)
• 2013: "Thanks for Everything" (Perfect Driver Music)
• 2013: "Can You Hear Me" (Suara Records)
• 2013: "TATOUS" (Nervous Records)
• 2014: "Into me" (Be Crazy)
• 2014: "Devotion" (Be Crazy)
• 2014: "5htp" (Be Crazy)
• 2015: "Groove Box" (Stereo Productions)
• 2015: "Holdin On" (Yoshitoshi Records)
• 2015: "Faces" (Yoshitoshi Records)
• 2015: "Don't Do That" (Xima Records)
• 2015: "Do You Take Anything" (Xima Records)
• 2015: "U Turn" (Xima Records)
• 2016: "The Sword" (Yoshitoshi Records)
• 2016: "All of A Sudden" (Yoshitoshi Records)

Featured

• 2011: "Fly Away" (In The Screen vs. Rony Seikaly feat. Craig David) (Erick Morillo, Harry Choo Choo Romero & José Nunez Mix)

Personal life

Seikaly speaks 4 languages fluently, English, Greek, Lebanese Arabic, and French. During his NBA playing career, Seikaly would return to Greece during the summer off-season, to visit his friends and family members.

When Magic Johnson returned to the NBA HIV-positive, and there was opposition to his inclusion in the league, because of his health status, Seikaly challenged him to a game of one-on-one, to show everyone that HIV is not contagious by touch.

Seikaly owns and runs a multi-million-dollar real estate investment company. He is also an investor in the South Beach, Miami, restaurants Quattro, Sosta, Solea, and Club Wall.

Seikaly was formerly married to Mexican super model Elsa Benítez, the 2001 and 2006 cover girl for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues. They divorced in 2005; they have a daughter, Mila.

Since July 2015, Rony has been married to Brazilian fashion blogger and model Martha Graeff.

Charity

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. He also founded the Rony Seikaly Golf Tournament to benefit cystic fibrosis research.

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.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]