Behdad Sami: 1st Iranian pro in the US

[Butata]

Behdad Sami
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Position: Point Guard
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight: 188 lb (85.3 kg)
Team: Georgia Gwizzlies (ABA)
Born: June 20, 1986
Nationality: Iranian - American
High school: Southridge (Beaverton, Oregon)
College: Linn-Benton Community College
Pro career: 2007–present

Behdad Sami (born in 1986) is an Iranian-American professional basketball player. He plays point guard for the Georgia Gwizzlies in the American Basketball Association (ABA).

Sami is currently the only pro Iranian basketball player playing in the United States and is noted for being the first professional Iranian basketball player to ever play in the United States.

[Butata]

Georgia Gwizzlies Renew Contract With Iranian Player
06/09/08 - American Basketball Association (ABA)

Macon, GA. The ABA Georgia Gwizzlies will renew the contract of 5'11 point guard Behdad Sami. The "slam dunking" Sami just returned from Turkey where he averaged 17 points and 6 assists. Prior to joining the Gwizzlies for the upcoming season, he will play for the Iranian National Team in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. "This young man has a great attitude, work ethic and willingness to learn," stated owner/GM Embry Malone. "That's why we are glad he is coming back to play for us. Atlanta is about 70 miles north of Macon and has the second largest Iranian-American population in the US."

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How come this guy never played for Iran in the Olympics?

[daniab]

Georgia Gwizzlies Renew Contract With Iranian Player
06/09/08 - American Basketball Association (ABA)

Macon, GA. The ABA Georgia Gwizzlies will renew the contract of 5'11 point guard Behdad Sami. The "slam dunking" Sami just returned from Turkey where he averaged 17 points and 6 assists. Prior to joining the Gwizzlies for the upcoming season, he will play for the Iranian National Team in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. "This young man has a great attitude, work ethic and willingness to learn," stated owner/GM Embry Malone. "That's why we are glad he is coming back to play for us. Atlanta is about 70 miles north of Macon and has the second largest Iranian-American population in the US."

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How come this guy never played for Iran in the Olympics?

i think (not sure),he came for try outs with iranian NT but he didnt perform greatly or at least he didnt show a better performance than his teammates.

[mohsena2631]

i think (not sure),he came for try outs with iranian NT but he didnt perform greatly or at least he didnt show a better performance than his teammates.

no, this name is new for me.

[mvblair]

Wow, thanks for this post, Butata. I didn't know about Sami until now. I found an action picture of him on page 7 of The Commuter, the newsletter for Linn Benton Community College, where he apparently played in 2006. Apparently, he was born in Iran but raised in America. If anyone has more information about his possible dealings with the National Team, let us know!

[satria_muda]

there's a vid in youtube about this guy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFKAtTEQ0BI

[Butata]

So now we can officially say that Iran has two pro players in the U.S. One will play for the Grizzlies (Hadadi) while the other plays for the Gwizzlies (Sami). Whether they'll be future teammates in the Iran NT in the next FIBA-Asia championship is up to Iran's basketball federation now.

Btw, here are some pics of Sami (one w/ Leandro Barbosa and another taking off for a slam):

[Khalid80]

So now we can officially say that Iran has two pro players in the U.S. One will play for the Grizzlies(Hadadi) while the other plays for the Gwizzlies (Sami). Whether they'll be future teammates in the Iran NT in the next FIBA-Asia championship is up to Iran's basketball federation now.

What a coincidence!
Who would have ever thought that the 2 Iranians living in the States would be playing with the Grizzlies and the Gwizzlies
(By the way there is a third Iranian by the name of Arsalan Kazemi whom is playing in the US in high school and the guy has a really bright future ahead of him). http://forums.interbasket.net/showthread.php?t=7340

[bdzmoney]

Hey guys, this is me, Behdad Sami, i wanted to thank every1 here for the support and interest! I really appreciate it. Im also happy to hear that Hadadi finally made it to the league! I wanted to answer a question that was asked in the 2nd post about me playing for the national team. I never did go to a tryout. The NT was interested and wanted me to play with them but I simply couldnt do it do to paperwork. I would have loved to be apart of the Olympics and help the team out as much as I could but didnt get the opportunity, hopefully next time! I also do think its a crazy coincidence that he plays for the grizz and I play for the gwizz, who would have thought?! I look forward to someday being teammates with Hadadi and helping Iran in any FIBA games! If anyone ever has any questions or anything at all, you can reach me at my email aswell, which is bdzmoney@hotmail.com. . . i'll keep checking this website aswell to see if anyone has questions too.

[Butata]

Wow...it's really you Behdad...consider me a fan Appreciate if you can post once in a while especially pics of you in the ABA.

Sorry to hear that the paperwork kinda hindered your Olympic stint but hope that it gets fixed soon so we can see you in Turkey for the 2010 World Championship. Or maybe as early as the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship!

[bdzmoney]

I will def. update you guys with everything! As soon as the season starts i'll get the pics you want up here. Again, I love my fanbase and I thank you guys for all the support, I really appreciate it! God willing, I would love to help Iran win in the next FIBA games.

[satria_muda]

wow you really here, cool... you got one more fan baba, me from Indonesia

'now I will follow Gwizzlies in ABA, I always excited when an Asian can make it to American league and Im really waiting for your pics and story

Good luck brother

[bdzmoney]

thanks man, its nice to know that I have a fan all the way in Indonesia. . .i think thats real cool. I will def. update you with things!

[rikhardur]

Hope everything works fine Behdad, nice to have with us on the forum

[bdzmoney]

I appreciate the support! Its nice to be on here