The all-time Iranian National team

[Buran]

Here is my all-time Iranian National team. I have to admit that I'm not that familiar with great players before 80's (~1360), but I'm assuming we didn't have anyone in the caliber of players listed below:

PG- Mehdi Kamrani: Iran's current PG, he has all the essential qualifications of a point guard, great ball-handling, great vision and passing skills he could also slice through opponents defense with ease, he is also a sound 3 pt shooter.

SG- Mehran Hatami: Iran's starting SG in early/mid 90's, the go-to-guy on offense, he could shoot the light out from beyond the arc and probably the best 3pt shooter in Iran's history. He was a member of the sqaud that finished 4th on the 1993 Asian Championship in Jakarta.

SF- Samad Nikkhah-Bahrami: probably the best all-around player in the Iranian basketball history. multi-talented player who excels at pretty much everything, great 3pt shooter and slasher, it's unfortunate that he is missing the world championship in turkey.

PF- Mohsen Sadeghzadeh (he used to play C in National team): a consistent player, along with Mehran Hatami he was an integral part of the National team during late 80's and early/mid 90's, despite being ~2.02cm, he had a good wingspan and was actually Iran's starting C and a great asset in both defense and offense.

C- Hamed Haddadi: Proabably Iran's first NBA player and perhaps best known player at the international level and the main reason for Iran claiming the latest Asian championship crown two times in a row. A great player that brings much more to the court than his height (2.18cm). Agility, a soft shooting touch and good passing skills are some of his better known skills.

would like to know what others think about this lineup

[gorganbasketball]

my line up ::
PG : Mohammad Kasaipour
SG : Hamed Afagh
SF : Reza Nouri
PF : Hamid Reza Kollasangiyani
C : Hamed Haddadi

[Buran]

my line up ::
PG : Mohammad Kasaipour
SG : Hamed Afagh
SF : Reza Nouri
PF : Hamid Reza Kollasangiyani
C : Hamed Haddadi

interesting lineup.
I don't know Reza Nouri that well unfortunately. But I have seen both Kasaeipour and Kolahsangiani during their heyday, Kasaeipour was a very inteligent PG, not too athletic and not the best 3pt shooter out there. Kolahsangiani was very good though, I thought of him and Mohammad Izadpanah when making the list, but I left them out.
Afagh is an outstanding player and an extremely well 3pt shooter as we all know, I like watching him play (be nazar khatarnak nemiad nadooni kie, vali ba panbe sare harifo mibore) but in my opinion Hatami was a better 3pt shooter during his peak years (I don't know how old you are Gorgan, if you were too young in the mid/early 90's (akharaye 60 ta avasete daheye 70) to remember his game, ask around (don't listen to me after all I'm from Shiraz , but in all honesty, I tried to be unbiased here )

[gorganbasketball]

interesting lineup.
I don't know Reza Nouri that well unfortunately. But I have seen both Kasaeipour and Kolahsangiani during their heyday, Kasaeipour was a very inteligent PG, not too athletic and not the best 3pt shooter out there. Kolahsangiani was very good though, I thought of him and Mohammad Izadpanah when making the list, but I left them out.
Afagh is an outstanding player and an extremely well 3pt shooter as we all know, I like watching him play (be nazar khatarnak nemiad nadooni kie, vali ba panbe sare harifo mibore) but in my opinion Hatami was a better 3pt shooter during his peak years (I don't know how old you are Gorgan, if you were too young in the mid/early 90's (akharaye 60 ta avasete daheye 70) to remember his game, ask around (don't listen to me after all I'm from Shiraz , but in all honesty, I tried to be unbiased here )

I'm 20 yo . I didn't see any of Hatami's games.
Reza Nouri was best Iranian sf in 70's and early 80's . ( first person dunks in games ) he was best jumper in 70's. (( man 1 - 2 ta az filmhaye mosabeghat sall 55 - 56 ghahremani iran ro to heyat gorgan didam ((siyah sefid - keyfiyat eftezah )). reza nouri to jaryan bazi eyn ab khordan dunk mizad ))

[mohsena2631]

it's really hard to compare players in different generations but lets try ! and don't forget we hadn't a professional league 20 years ago (that was just pro on paper) and I think it can make a big difference.

PG) we always had good guards, in past the problem was our centers and forwards. I think Mehdi Kamrani is our best in history but I remember Mohammad Kasaeipour very well and he was very smart and quick (he is a bad coach now !) also I think Babak Nezafat was very talented and he was very good in his prime days, unfortunately some non-sports reasons ruined his career !!

SG) I pick Dr Mehran Hatami as the best SG, everybody like Hamed Afagh because he's a nice guy. also I think Iman Zandi was a great player in his prime day.

SF) Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, no doubt ! if I have to choose another player, I will pick his brother Aidin Nikkhah Bahrami.

PF) I can't remember any big power forward ! (sorry Buran jan Sadeghzadeh was a center) so I pick Hamid Reza Kolasangiani because Gorgan (as the heart of basketball in Iran) deserved a player

C) Hamed Haddadi no doubt, but I remember Mohsen Sadeghzadeh very well and he was the star of our 1993 team wich finished 4th in Asia.

@Gorganbasketball: what do you think about your imperator (Izadpanah) ?

[busy]

Guys .We have the all time best basketball players now .There is no doubt

[gorganbasketball]

.

@Gorganbasketball: what do you think about your imperator (Izadpanah) ?

Izadpanah was a center and I believe he is best all-time Iranian center behind Haddadi. ((but he is stupid head coach!!))

[Buran]

it's really hard to compare players in different generations but lets try ! and don't forget we hadn't a professional league 20 years ago (that was just pro on paper) and I think it can make a big difference.

PG) we always had good guards, in past the problem was our centers and forwards. I think Mehdi Kamrani is our best in history but I remember Mohammad Kasaeipour very well and he was very smart and quick (he is a bad coach now !) also I think Babak Nezafat was very talented and he was very good in his prime days, unfortunately some non-sports reasons ruined his career !!

SG) I pick Dr Mehran Hatami as the best SG, everybody like Hamed Afagh because he's a nice guy. also I think Iman Zandi was a great player in his prime day.

SF) Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, no doubt ! if I have to choose another player, I will pick his brother Aidin Nikkhah Bahrami.

PF) I can't remember any big power forward ! (sorry Buran jan Sadeghzadeh was a center) so I pick Hamid Reza Kolasangiani because Gorgan (as the heart of basketball in Iran) deserved a player

C) Hamed Haddadi no doubt, but I remember Mohsen Sadeghzadeh very well and he was the star of our 1993 team wich finished 4th in Asia.

@Gorganbasketball: what do you think about your imperator (Izadpanah) ?

Afagh is still midway through his career and he has time to become the player with most career 3pts and many other accolades, it's good seeing current players getting better than their coaches, it's a good indication that the basketball wheel is moving forward.

Mohsen jan I did cheat! Sadeghzadeh is not a PF, but I couldn't leave him out because of all his contribution to the NT.

Izadpanah was a center and I believe he is best all-time Iranian center behind Haddadi. ((but he is stupid head coach!!))

Gorgan, I heard this many years ago that Izadpanah used to tackle palm trees in his high school yard to toughen-up! I don't know if there is any truth to this story (yeki migoft, ke to madrese be derakhtaye nakhl to hayat tane mizad too zang tafrih o varzesh ta ghavi beshe o ro form biad, nemidonam rast bashe ya dorogh Az ghole babaye madrehe migoftan mesle inke!)

Guys .We have the all time best basketball players now .There is no doubt

Welcome to the forum Busy, good to see another Iranian here.
you are right we do have a great team at the moment.

[mohsena2631]

Guys .We have the all time best basketball players now .There is no doubt

yes, this is our best team in history but it doesn't mean that all of these players are the best !

I forgot a name, Saeid Tabeshnia, yeah he never had a very brilliant peak but he was good for more than 15 years, (it's really rare in Iran) and he is still competitive at the age of 40 !! I just want to mention his name here to keep him on your mind.

[mvblair]

Thanks for starting this topic. I enjoy reading about "older" players.

Personally, I think this year, this Iranian National Team, had the chance to have players who through five be the best in Iranian history. I think that every player could have been on your list of the best players in history, because with Afagh and Nikkhah (Aidin was very, very close in terms of ability), they could have gotten into the second round.

...but now...well, I'm sorry, guys. Haddadi is amazing, but he is not enough. This team should have had the best players in Iranian history. It's really tragic, I think.

The current players have an interesting place in the hearts of American basketball fans. I think that American fans love this Iranian NT because they have traveled a lot in the US. They are very competitive and very friendly. We like them a lot!

[Buran]

Thanks for starting this topic. I enjoy reading about "older" players.

Personally, I think this year, this Iranian National Team, had the chance to have players who through five be the best in Iranian history. I think that every player could have been on your list of the best players in history, because with Afagh and Nikkhah (Aidin was very, very close in terms of ability), they could have gotten into the second round.

...but now...well, I'm sorry, guys. Haddadi is amazing, but he is not enough. This team should have had the best players in Iranian history. It's really tragic, I think.

The current players have an interesting place in the hearts of American basketball fans. I think that American fans love this Iranian NT because they have traveled a lot in the US. They are very competitive and very friendly. We like them a lot!

Glad you enjoyed this post mvblair. As you mentioned, this is probably our best team ever it's unfortunate that some key players are missing. I'm sure they also had very pleasant memories from the time they were in the US training for the 2008 Olympics.

[payampayam]

Glad you enjoyed this post mvblair. As you mentioned, this is probably our best team ever it's unfortunate that some key players are missing. I'm sure they also had very pleasant memories from the time they were in the US training for the 2008 Olympics.

its really hard to compare players in dif generations but my idea is:
post 1: Saied Armaghani
he is the most dominate PG of all time here ,,, his leadership was unique
other candidates :
Mehdi Kamrani , Safa ali Kamalian
about Mohammad kasaie : he was good but not even comparable in enything with kamrani and armaghani
safa was technically the best but he could not shoot well (which is so important for a PG ) and he was not a natural leader
post 2:Ali Tofigh
its so hard to say who is the best in this post
my choice is Ali agha because he was perfect ,, like he could shoot very well from everywhere and also he could penetrate with his unique techniques and he could really jump as well , besides he was best diffender in team too
other options can be
Mehran Hatami (all time best shooter ) Hamed Afagh , Touraj Emdadi ,
Post3:Samd nickkhah Bahrami
we can just think about Aidin and maybe Mohammad Izad Panah if we gonna mention him as post 3
post4:Mohammad Izad Panah
most genius player of all time ,, he was the best player in his team with all other good players ,, he could play in every posts of basketball in his time
be sure that nobody else is comparable to him
its funny if u gonna talk about Kolahsangiani ( he was not even number one in his best years,Behzad Afradi and hamid kashani was playing more than him in NT and they were really better)
other candidates can be Saied Fathi and Mostafa Hashemi ( he was the only guy who could killed Sadeghzadeh )
post 5: Hamed Haddai
other options can be Mohsen Sadeghzadeh and Amir Ilyavie
about this list
i can say i don't know exactly about many great players like:
Bahman farzaneh ,, Hassan Mirzaaghabeygue ,, Reza Nouri ,, Ali Shakouri ,, Jaffar Gharakhani and many legends from 40th -50th

[theleatherwallet]

---

I know Hamed and Samad should be on here, but I havn't seen enough Iranian basketball to commentate on the other positions. I have feeling Aiden probably deserves to be on this list as well. That only really leaves a guard position open and power forward positions open. I could see Kazemi playing the PF, but he is sort of tiny for that.

So that leaves one guard slot open. I don't think we have had a break out guard. Does anyone want to make a short list for each of the positions, and we can have a vote?

[sergio23]

Hello all! I just want to know if Bharami (sorry if I mispelled it) will going to Europe or something or have any plan? coz I do feel from the way he play Basketball he should be in Europe or I think in the NBA.

[theleatherwallet]

Well, he already went to Europe to play in the French ligue, but I do not think he spent much time there. You can wiki him for more info.

I think many Iranians expected him to head to the NBA after the recent FIBA world championship, but he was injured and did not play. I think the rumor was that the Toronto Raptors or LA Clippers had shown interest.