About Tariq Abdul Wahad

Tariq Abdul-Wahad (born Olivier Michael Saint-Jean; November 3, 1974, in Maisons-Alfort, Val-de-Marne) is a French professional basketball player. Abdul-Wahad was born in France from parents who migrated from French Guiana. He changed his name to Tariq Abdul-Wahad after converting to Islam in 1997. He is the first player to be born and raised in France and play in the NBA. Tariq first played college basketball at the University of Michigan, but later transferred to San Jose State, and was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in 1997. He was known as a defensive specialist, but his playing time was restricted in later seasons due to injuries. He only played in 236 out of a possible 788 games. In 2005 Abdul-Wahad was on the Dallas Mavericks roster on injured reserve but was released during training camp prior to the 2005-06 season. In November 2006 Italian team Climamio Bologna invited