Muslim Basketball

Lil O did not disappoint with his first-round selection being none other than reigning MVP and backcourt bestie, Hassan Chaabane. Lil O, and Hamza Abdelghani will provide this team with shooting while Obada and Jehad will provide the size and muscle. And the do it all superstar point guard will have leave his imprint on every game. 

After hearing rumors all week that Wajdi was the consensus number one pick, until minutes before the draft, safe to say Captain Salman isn’t complaining one bit. The finals MVP, as well as ROTY last season is a certified bucket! Salman added former teammate and champ, Ameer Koyas, scoring in Omar Hussein and playmaking 4man Omar Qasem. I don’t see this team getting outrebounded often, but they seem to be missing a true ball handler that can facilitate the offense. Ehh, what do I know, I just type power rankings for a living?

Speaking of another champion, Musa Yanes and Shafic have reunited to form one of the deadliest 1-2 punches in the league. Can you imagine the business decisions that are going to be made by defenses when you have a pick n roll between these two? Oh, and then you’ll have to worry about Idris hiding in a corner ready to knock down 4 3’s on a nightly basis. 

     What’s better than one Joey C? Two Joey C’s! Joey Capone and JoJo are going to cause havoc for opposing defenses and are virtually guaranteed 40 points between the two of them. If this team can muster up contributions from Fursan, Amir and Ramzy on a consistent basis, they should be extremely successful.

At first glance, this is the best defensive team in the league. Billal, Yahya and Jawad are some of the bests on ball defenders at the guard position. Commissioner Himey was top 5 in the league in blocks last season and Ahmad Sehwail is a solid option at the five. Newcomer Rayan Albana will be relied on heavily has he is primed to start for this squad and provide some scoring alongside their 1-2 punch of Biggz and J-Bird. 

For starters, they have arguably the best scoring PG in the league in Ali Hassan. Deeb is a walking double-double and showcase player and rookie Ali Suiafan is generating some serious buzz. Omar Marachil and vet Hafiz will provide much needed spacing on the perimeter, while Islam and Mustafa Barakat will dominate in the midrange game. Very solid squad. 

Omar Singer is back after a one season hiatus and looks primed for a stellar campaign. Showcase standout Mahrooz Qaderi looks like a great player and guards like Sadat, Elias and Moe Dirt will take some pressure off Singer. Could be lacking a true big, but so is practically everyone in MB.

So, I wanted to rank this team higher, but I couldn’t because of the unknowns. Farzad is back in MB, and we can’t forget that he is a 3-time champ and certified bucket. The showcase hypetrain could be heard from across the world, for rookie Mahdy Suleiman, and rightfully so. They added rookie Glendi Ismael, who looks like a solid combo guard as well as the best shooter in the league Mo Masri. 

I hate that I have to rank them this low, because Ahmad was GM of the year last summer, but some teams are unfairly ranked at the moment.  Mana will lead the league in rebounding, while Raza will orchestrate the offense and expect Moe Rayyan and Ahmad to space the floor and knock down perimeter shots.

Captain Mohammed Abdelghani made some bold selections in this year’s draft and went strictly for offense. Aadil, Amir, Malik and Splash will provide the scoring, while Muhannad Darwish and Samih Wadi will anchor the paint. Another Zubi joins the fold as showcase player Mohammed Zubi looks to make his MB debut. This team can score, but there is only one basketball, and they need to figure that out.

     It's hard to have a preseason ranking because some teams will catch the shorter end of the stick. Zain is one of the best big men in the league and a former MVP. Sohaib and Yo Shah are great guards and should work very well together. I expect more consistency out of Omar Sehwail. But this team has no legitimate threat on the perimeter and that could hurt them as early as week 1.

     Let’s start with positives. Shahzaib, Affan and Ed are three talented guards and Shahzaib will probably lead the league in scoring. But I just don’t know about everyone else on the roster. Some solid veteran players but no one that strikes fear into opposing defenses outside of the big three.