Iran men's national basketball team

The Iran national basketball team is controlled by the IR Iran Basketball Federation. Overall, the team won three out of the last five FIBA Asia Championship tournaments.[2]

Iran
FIBA ranking27 Steady (1 March 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA1947
FIBA zoneFIBA Asia
National federationIRIBF
CoachHakan Demir
Olympic Games
Appearances3
FIBA World Cup
Appearances4
FIBA Asia Cup
Appearances18
Medals Gold: (2007, 2009, 2013)
Silver: (2017)
Bronze: (2015)
Asian Games
Appearances12
Medals Silver: (2014, 2018)
Bronze: (1951, 2006, 2010)
Medal record

History

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Photograph of the Iranian national team at the 1948 Summer Olympics.

The Iranian national team has had limited success on the international stage, with the most international experience being that of their 1948 Summer Olympics qualification, although they did not manage to make it past the group stage.

The team won the Bronze medal at the basketball competition of the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.

2007 FIBA Asia Championship

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Placed in the dreaded "Group of Death" alongside China, the Philippines, and Jordan, the Iranians won all three group matches to make it to the next round.

In the quarterfinals, Iran went 2–1, to make it to semifinals, following victories over Chinese Taipei and Qatar, and then routed Kazakhstan, 75–62, in the semifinals.

The Iranians then beat Lebanon 74–69, with Hamed Haddadi scoring 31 points.[2] Not only did it avenge an 82–60 defeat in the quarterfinals, they also became the first Western Asian team to win the tournament, and thus make it to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[2]

2008 Beijing Olympic Games

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In being crowned the 2007 Asian Champions, the Iranians qualified for the 2008 Beijing games for the first time in 60 years. The Olympic experience led to a flurry of opportunities for the Iranian players, as they traveled across the world in preparation for the games, including a visit to the US. Iran was placed in Group A, along with Lithuania, Russia, Argentina, Croatia, and Australia, suffering five defeats. The Olympic experience opened doors for players such as Hamed Haddadi, and Iranian captain Samad Nikkhah Bahrami to play in the NBA (National Basketball Association) and sign in the top French League.

Haddadi finished with averages of 16.6 points per game, 11.2 rebounds per game, and 2.6 blocks per game, leading the entire tournament in the latter two categories. His highlight performance was in the game against Argentina when he put up 21 points and 16 rebounds.[3]

2009 FIBA Asia Championship

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Winning the FIBA Asia Championship 2009 at Tianjin, China, was a sign on continuing progress in basketball. Iran defeated China, by a score of 70–52 in the final.[4]

2010 FIBA World Championship

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Iran's second consecutive FIBA Asia Championship gave them their first ever FIBA World Championship berth, at the 2010 FIBA World Championship. The team finished 1–4 in Group B, good for 19th place

2013 FIBA Asia Championship

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Iran national team in 2021, during a time out in a friendly against Spain.

Winning the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship at Manila, Philippines, was a sign that the Iranian team has forgot the tragedy of their loss to Jordan in last tournament, 2011 FIBA Asia Championship, and reclaimed the top place in the FIBA Asia. Iran defeated the charged up hosts Philippines by an 85–71 win in the final. Iranian center Hamed Haddadi, who played a stellar role in Iran's triumph at the 27th FIBA Asia Championship, became the most accomplished individual player of the competition winning two awards, including that of the MVP. Iran was the only team with two awards in the All Stars with Oshin Sahakian named for the Power Forward position.

2014 FIBA World Championship

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Iran's third FIBA Asia Championship gave them their second FIBA World Championship berth, at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[5]

Tournament records

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  • Red border indicates that the tournament was hosted on home soil. Gold, silver, bronze backgrounds indicates 1st, 2nd and 3rd finishes respectively. Bold text indicates best finish in tournament. B or U18 indicates that the team was represented by its B or U18 team.

Honours

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The Iran national team's all-time medal record:

GamesGoldSilverBronzeTotal
FIBA World Cup0000
FIBA Asia Cup3115
Asian Games0235
Totals33410

Summer Olympics

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Summer Olympic Games record
YearRoundPositionPldWL
1936Did not enter
194813th place match14th place725
1952Did not enter
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980Boycotted the event
1984
1988Did not enter
1992Did not qualify
1996
2000
2004
2008Preliminary round11th place505
2012Did not qualify
2016
2020Preliminary round12th place303
2024Did not qualify
2028Future events
2032
Total3/2015213

World Cup

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FIBA World Cup record
YearRoundPositionPldWL
1950Did not enter
1954
1959
1963
1967
1970
1974Did not qualify
1978Did not enter
1982Did not qualify
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010Preliminary round19th of 24514
2014Preliminary round20th of 24514
201917th–32nd Classification23rd of 32523
202317th–32nd Classification31st of 32505
2027To be determined
Total4/2020416

FIBA Asia Cup

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YearPositionPldWL
Europe
195917th place716
Asia
1960Did not enter
1963
1965
1967
1969
1971
19735th place1046
1975Did not enter
1977
1979
19818th place734
19835th place651
19858th place624
1987Did not enter
19895th place743
19916th place844
19934th place642
199510th place853
19978th place734
1999Did not qualify
2001
20035th place743
20056th place844
2007Champions871
2009Champions990
20115th place981
2013Champions990
20153rd place972
2017Runners-up651
20225th place431
2025To be determined
Total18/311349044

Asian Games

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YearRankPldWL
19513rd place422
1954Did not enter
1958
1962
19667th place734
19707th place862
19746th place734
1978Did not enter
1982
1986
19907th place633
19948th place624
19987th place624
2002Did not enter
20063rd place853
20103rd place862
2014Runners-up761
2018Runners-up431
20225th place651
2026Future events
2030
2034
Total12/19774631

FIBA Asia Challenge

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YearRankPldWL
2004Qualified but withdrew
2008
20106th place (B)734
2012Champions770
2014Champions761
2016Champions880
Total4/629245

West Asian Championship

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YearRankPldWL
19994th place413
20004th place422
20013rd place422
2002Runners-up431
2004Champions440
2005Champions440
2008Did not enter
2010Champions (B)330
2011Champions330
2012Runners-up541
2013Champions330
2014Runners-up (U18)541
2015Did not enter
2016Champions440
2017Runners-up541
Total13/15524111

Other tournaments

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Team

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Current roster

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Roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[6][7]

Iran men's national basketball team – 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameAge – Date of birthHeightClubCtr.
G3Mohammad Sina Vahedi22 – (2001-01-08)8 January 20011.85 m (6 ft 1 in)Kalleh
C4Meisam Mirzaei31 – (1992-04-16)16 April 19922.08 m (6 ft 10 in)Kalleh
G5Sajjad Mashayekhi29 – (1994-02-23)23 February 19941.80 m (5 ft 11 in)Zob Ahan Isfahan
F6Mohammad Amini18 – (2005-04-26)26 April 20052.01 m (6 ft 7 in)Monaco
SF7Navid Rezaeifar27 – (1996-08-23)23 August 19961.93 m (6 ft 4 in)Palayesh Naft Abadan
PG8Behnam Yakhchali28 – (1995-07-12)12 July 19951.91 m (6 ft 3 in)Gladiators Treves
SF10Piter Girgoorian21 – (2002-02-27)27 February 20021.99 m (6 ft 6 in)Mahram Tehran
PF14Arsalan Kazemi33 – (1990-04-22)22 April 19902.01 m (6 ft 7 in)Zob Ahan Isfahan
C15Hamed Haddadi (C)38 – (1985-05-19)19 May 19852.18 m (7 ft 2 in)Sichuan Blue Whales
SG17Matin Aghajanpour22 – (2001-03-14)14 March 20011.98 m (6 ft 6 in)Kalleh
PF30Jalal Aghamiri22 – (2001-01-29)29 January 20012.02 m (6 ft 8 in)Kalleh
C32Hasan Aliakbari27 – (1996-07-07)7 July 19962.18 m (7 ft 2 in)Parsa
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Ali Arezoomandi
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the tournament
  • Age – describes age
    on 25 August 2023

Head coaches

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Note: The following list may not be complete

References

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  1. ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "IRN/LIB – It's Iraaaaaan!". FIBA. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
  3. ^ "Yao, Hamed, and Patty shined as stars from Asia & Oceania at the Olympics". FIBA. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Iran wins Asian Basketball Championships". WashingtonTV. Archived from the original on 24 August 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  5. ^ "Fan Thread". PersianFootball.com. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  6. ^ "Announcement of the list of players of the national basketball team for the 2023 World Cup". Iribf.ir. 21 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Team roster: Iran" (PDF). FIBA. 25 August 2023.
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