By Samantha Hoffman, WRAL Sports contributor

For wheelchair basketball player Sofyane Mehiaoui, the Paris 20204 Paralympic Games offer an opportunity to bring his passion and sport to the worldwide stage while playing in his hometown.

“I grew up in Paris, so to show my sport, to show what I can do with a ball, with my chair, to my family, to my friends, to Paris, for me is something very big,” Mehiaoui said.

He has played in Italy, Spain and Turkey, spreading his love for wheelchair basketball through his club Paris Basket Fauteuil.

Wheelchair basketball is very similar to the sport Americans know from the NBA and WNBA. Players are tasked with making their way up and down the court, dribbling the ball between every two pushes of the wheels on the wheelchair, and passing from teammate to teammate trying to score.

“Same time, same courts and ball, everything is the same,” Mehiaoui said.

In the Paralympics, individual players are classified by their level of ability, to keep a level playing field. In wheelchair basketball, the five players on the court for any time must have a total classification of 14.

Mehiaoui started playing at a young age when his schoolteacher began trying to adapt different sports for people in wheelchairs. “We did wheelchair basketball, volleyball in wheelchairs, we also did baseball in wheelchairs,” he said.

He fell in love with basketball and invested time in training, working on lots of skills and fundamentals. His goal was always to be the fastest on the court. As Mehiaoui has matured, other skills have become more important.

“I have to be of course fast and also a good shooter, but also to be smart, to make a good choice, to make a good pass to help the team win,” he said.

Mehiaoui will play for Team France and is focused on starting the tournament off strong. But he also wants to share the message of Paralympic athletes from around the world.

“We are not just disabilities in a wheelchair. We are sportsmen, we are athletes,” he said.

The Paralympics come to Paris (and to Peacock) Aug. 28 through Sept. 8. With sports ranging from blind football and para powerlifting to boccia and para-archery.

Source: wralsportsfan.com