Marek Doleà ¾aj (born 13 April 1998) is a Slovak professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange. In 2024, he won the Icelandic Basketball Cup as a member of KeflavÃÂk.
Doleà ¾aj was born in Bratislava, the son of Miloà ¡ Doleà ¾aj, a banker, and Ladislava, a professor. His older sister played volleyball. Doleà ¾aj grew up playing soccer but first began playing basketball at the age of seven after a coach suggested it. He studied at the Gymnázium Hubeného in Bratislava. Doleà ¾aj joined MBK Karlovka Bratislava of the Extraliga in 2014, and averaged 2.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game. He signed with Club Baloncesto El Olivar of the Spanish LEB Plata in October 2015. He put videos of himself playing basketball on YouTube, which attracted the attention of Syracuse assistant coach Adrian Autry. Autry eventually came to Bratislava to recruit Doleà ¾aj. During the 2016-17 season, he played for MBK Karlovka Bratislava and averaged 11.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. In May 2017, he committed to play college basketball at Syracuse after talking to his best friend Jack, who grew up in Upstate, NY.
As a freshman, Doleà ¾aj started the final 17 games of the season and averaged 5.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, helping the team reach the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. He averaged 4.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore, starting six games. On February 1, 2020, Dolezaj scored a career-high 22 points in a 97-88 loss to Duke. As a junior, he averaged 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Doleà ¾aj was slowed by a broken finger as a senior. He chipped his tooth in a game against Georgetown on January 9, 2021. Doleà ¾aj averaged 9.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, helping the Orange advance to the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16. He finished his career with 960 points and 649 rebounds. Doleà ¾aj declined to accept the NCAA's additional year of eligibility granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, instead entering the 2021 NBA draft.
On August 17, 2021, Doleà ¾aj signed with BC Ternopil of the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague. He averaged 9.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
On January 13, 2022, Doleà ¾aj signed with Iraklis of the Greek Basket League. In 13 games, he averaged 4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 23 minutes per contest.
In July 2023, Doleà ¾aj signed with KeflavÃÂk of the Icelandic ÃÂrvalsdeild karla. On 23 March 2024, he won the Icelandic Basketball Cup with KeflavÃÂk.
On 28 September 2024, he won the Icelandic Super Cup after KeflavÃÂk defeated reigning national champions Valur 98âÂÂ88 in the cup final.
In June 2025, he signed with ÃÂrmann.
Doleà ¾aj has represented Slovakia in several international competitions. He participated in the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division B, averaging 9.1 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists per game despite being younger than most players. Doleà ¾aj posted a triple double of 11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against Ireland. In the 2016 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B, he led the team in scoring and rebounding with 13.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Doleà ¾aj averaged 11 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in the 2018 FIBA U20 European Championship Division B qualifiers.