2021 Class of FIBA Hall of Fame: Mathieu Faye

MIES (Switzerland) – Mathieu Faye, the MVP of FIBA AfroBasket 1980 and two-time winner of the event with Senegal, is being inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame.

Faye (Senegal) is being enshrined in the Class of 2021, along with legendary players Hana Horakova (Czech Republic), Panagiotis Giannakis (Greece), Stanislav Kropilak (Slovakia), Oscar Moglia (Uruguay – posthumously), Detlef Schrempf (Germany), Penka Stoyanova (Bulgaria – posthumously), Sergey Tarakanov (Russia) and Haixia Zheng (China) and coaching greats Chuck Daly (USA – posthumously), Tom Maher (Australia) and Ettore Messina (Italy).

When one thinks about the long and rich history of Senegalese basketball, the name Mathieu Faye always comes to mind.

A hard-working guard from Dakar, Faye ensured his name would never be forgotten as he was a leading player in the Lions teams that won the FIBA AfroBaskets in both 1978 and 1980.

Faye was so good at the second of those triumphs that he was named the MVP of the tournament.

That year was very special because Faye, for the first and only time in his career, also played at the Olympics. He was the third leading scorer in the Senegal team that competed at the Moscow Games.

He launched his career in his early teens with Jeanne d’Arc Dakar, his club from 1972 to 1982, winning two Senegalese League titles, a Senegal Cup, a couple of Saint Michel Cups and the Senegal Ministry Cup. It was during that long run as a Jeanne d’Arc player that he also became a crucial player in the national team, winning his first AfroBasket in 1978, which was the same year he also took part in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in

He then moved to France to compete for the next several seasons.

Faye suited up for four clubs in France and his tenure in the country started with a bang. On an excellent Limoges team, in the 1982-1983 campaign, he celebrated a French Cup, French League and Korac Cup treble.

That year became even sweeter as Faye traveled to Alexandria, Egypt, for FIBA AfroBasket 1983 and achieved another podium finish, this time third.

In remarks to the Senegalese Press Agency, Faye described his Hall of Fame selection as “a feeling of pride, an honor and a pleasure.”

He also paid tribute to his coaches, especially those back in Senegal, and former teammates that had him experience so many highs in the sport.

“It is also a reward for all the people that were with us in winning these titles, in particular our coaches, Mamadou Sow, Alioune Diop and Busnel Diagne, my teammates, too, Oumar Dia Adidas 1, Joseph Lopez, Aimé Toupane and all this generation of Jeanne d’Arc basketball players,” he said.