It took three months to solve the constitutional puzzle that would grant Omari Spellman Lebanese citizenship.

Spellman was scouted by the Lebanese Basketball Federation in October 2022. The Cleveland native had been waiting since his naturalization file was submitted on Jan. 18, 2023.

Since the honorary initiation of Lebanese citizenship is typically reserved for the President of the Republic, whose seat has been vacant since Oct. 31, 2022, all processes to grant the Lebanese nationality were blocked.

Withthe deadline for player registration for the next International Basketball Federation World Cup approaching, it was deemed unlikely that the lengthy and complicated process of nationalizing Spellman would be complete in time.

But on the evening of April 18, things took a positive turn. An unprecedented decision to grant Spellman citizenship was made possible under Constitution Article 62, which states, “Should there be a vacancy in the Presidency for any reason whatsoever, the Council of Ministers shall exercise the authorities of the President of the Republic by delegation.”

“We are delighted that the cabinet took this decision, far from any political considerations,” said Akram Halabi, president of the Lebanese Basketball Federation. “It is a very good thing that the interest of the national team has taken precedence in this whole story.”

Spellman, who played with the Atlanta Hawks before joining the Golden State Warriors in 2018, played in the position of power forward since 2021 on the Asian continent as part of the South Korean Anyang KGC team, with which he scored an average of 20 points per game this season.

Standing at 2,07 m tall, Spellman has plenty of experience under his belt, despite being only 25 years old. He is a great addition to the Lebanese team which will fly to Southeast Asia to play in the 2023 FIBA World Cup held between Aug. 25 and Sept. 10.

This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour. Translation by Joelle El Khoury.