FROM 2005 all the way to 2022, Hamed Haddadi has been to every single Fiba Asia Cup, winning it with Iran three times in a long, legendary career.
So this is a totally new experience for him as the 40-year old sat a few rows behind the Iran bench as the Iranians played Guam in their Fiba Asia Cup 2025 debut on Wednesday night at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.
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"Of course, always supporting the Iranian national team. I came here last night and came to watch our players to support them - and to watch all the games," the Iran legend said in an interview with the Fiba Asia Cup website.
"Happy to be back in the Asia Cup as a supporter, especially to the Iran team," Haddadi added.
Haddadi was the central figure in the golden age of Iranian basketball, teaming up with the likes of forward Nikkhah Bahrami and point guard Mahdi Kamrani to win three Asia Cup titles, the last at the expense of host Gilas Pilipinas in 2013.
Haddadi also made it to the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies and the Phoenix Suns as well as two Olympic Games before calling it a career at the end of Iran's classification game against Lebanon at the 2023 Fiba World Cup in Indonesia.
Now, from his seat at courtside, he watches as a changing of the guard develops in Iran basketball, confident that Team Melli will make it back on top in due time.
Until then, the Iranian giant preaches patience.
"You know, we're changing generations, and I say this all the time: we have to be patient," he said. "Because we're changing our generations and they need more training time They need more games, like good games, with European teams."
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