Tariq Abdul-Wahad (born Olivier Michael Saint-Jean; November 3, 1974) is a French basketball coach and former player. As Olivier Saint-Jean, he played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines and San Jose State Spartans. In 1997, the Sacramento Kings selected Saint-Jean in the first round of the NBA draft as the 11th overall pick, and Saint-Jean converted to Islam and changed his name to Tariq Abdul-Wahad. From 1997 to 2003, Abdul-Wahad played in the NBA for the Kings, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets, and Dallas Mavericks. He was the first player to be raised in France and play in the NBA.
Early life and college years
Olivier Saint-Jean was born in Maisons-Alfort near Paris. His step-father Quinis Brower was a former Hofstra University and pro basketball player who was drafted by the ABA's New York Nets before a professional career in France, playing with the club team Limoges.
After graduating from Lycee Aristide Briand in 1993, Abdul-Wahad first played college basketball for two years at Michigan and transferred to San Jose State in 1995. Abdul-Wahad was part of the San Jose State team that won the 1996 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament and made the NCAA Tournament despite a 13–16 record. His No. 3 jersey was retired by San Jose State in 2002; however, the banner hanging in the Event Center Arena refers to him as Olivier Saint-Jean, the name he used while in college. He changed his name to Tariq Abdul-Wahad after converting to Islam in 1997.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| align="left" | 1997–98
| align="left" | Sacramento
| 59 || 16 || 16.3 || .403 || .211 || .672 || 2.0 || .9 || .6 || .2 || 6.4
|-
| align="left" | 1998–99
| align="left" | Sacramento
| 49 || 49 || 24.6 || .435 || .286 || .691 || 3.8 || 1.0 || 1.0 || .3 || 9.3
|-
| align="left" | 1999–00
| align="left" | Orlando
| 46 || 46 || 26.2 || .433 || .095 || .762 || 5.2 || 1.6 || 1.2 || .3 || 12.2
|-
| align="left" | 1999–00
| align="left" | Denver
| 15 || 10 || 24.9 || .389 || .500 || .738 || 3.5 || 1.7 || .4 || .8 || 8.9
|-
| align="left" | 2000–01
| align="left" | Denver
| 29 || 12 || 14.5 || .387 || .400 || .583 || 2.0 || .8 || .5 || .4 || 3.8
|-
| align="left" | 2001–02
| align="left" | Denver
| 20 || 12 || 20.9 || .379 || .500 || .750 || 3.9 || 1.1 || .9 || .5 || 6.8
|-
| align="left" | 2001–02
| align="left" | Dallas
| 4 || 0 || 6.0 || .000 || – || .000 || 1.5 || .5 || .5 || .3 || .0
|-
| align="left" | 2002–03
| align="left" | Dallas
| 14 || 0 || 14.6 || .466 || .000 || .500 || 2.9 || 1.5 || .4 || .2 || 4.1
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 236 || 145 || 20.4 || .417 || .237 || .703 || 3.3 || 1.1 || .8 || .4 || 7.8
|}
Playoffs
|-
| align="left" | 1999
| align="left" | Sacramento
| 5 || 5 || 19.8 || .455 || .000 || .813 || 3.8 || .8 || .8 || .8 || 8.6
|-
| align="left" | 2003
| align="left" | Dallas
| 8 || 0 || 9.9 || .300 || .000 || .875 || 2.8 || .9 || .0 || .0 || 3.1
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 13 || 5 || 13.7 || .381 || .000 || .833 || 3.2 || .8 || .3 || .3 || 5.2
|}
National team career
Abdul-Wahad (as Oliver Saint Jean) played for the France men's national under-18 basketball team at the 1992 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship where his team won gold. As a senior player for France, he won the silver medal in the 2000 Olympic game in Sydney losing against the US in the final.
Post-playing years
In 2005, Abdul-Wahad played the part of King Negus of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in the video play Mercy to Mankind: Part 1, The Prophecy Fulfilled, sponsored by the MAS (Muslim American Society) Youth Chapter, Dallas, Texas.
Abdul-Wahad finished his B.A. in art history at San Jose State University in 2008 and enrolled in the M.A. program at San Jose State afterwards. He later started a clothing business in Brazil with a friend and a television production company in France.
Abdul-Wahad became head varsity boys' basketball coach at Lincoln High School of San Jose, California in 2012.