The tall pivot player (2.18 m) and the only Iranian who competed in the NBA, where he played for 5 seasons, decided to put an end to his international career in the current World Cup, where his country suffered five defeats in a row, the last of which was against Lebanon on Saturday in Jakarta to dash his hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In an impressive farewell, the players of the Cedar team honored Haddadi, who had previously defended the colors of the Lebanese club Champville in 2019.
Haddadi played 27 minutes against Lebanon and scored 14 points, knowing that his total score in his last World Cup match was 40 points.
“I loved the national team and basketball, but one day you have to leave,” Haddadi said, according to what was quoted by the IRNA news agency.
“It was a very difficult decision and I hesitated until the last minute,” he added.
Haddadi is very popular in Iran, where he has defended his country’s shirt in international forums for more than 20 years, and he was the last player on the courts of the golden generation that put Iranian basketball on the world map.
In 2007, he contributed to Iran winning its first Asian title, to add two titles in 2009 and 2013, noting that he was chosen as the best player in the tournament 4 times (2007, 2009, 2013 and 2017). Between 2008 and 2013, he participated in more than 150 matches in the American League with the Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns. He has been playing since 2020 with the Chinese club Sichuan Blue Whales.
© 2023 AFP
2023-09-03 12:05:07
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