Iran men's national basketball team

The Iran men’s national basketball team (Persian: تیم ملی بسکتبال مردان ایران) represents Iran in international basketball, and are governed by the Islamic Republic of Iran Basketball Federation (IRIBF).

Iran
FIBA ranking28 Steady (25 February 2025)[1]
Joined FIBA1947
FIBA zoneFIBA Asia
National federationIRIBF
CoachSotiris Manolopoulos
Nickname(s)Team Melli
(The National Team)
Olympic Games
Appearances3
FIBA World Cup
Appearances4
FIBA Asia Cup
Appearances19
MedalsGold Gold: (2007, 2009, 2013)
Silver Silver: (2017)
Bronze Bronze: (2015)
Asian Games
Appearances12
MedalsSilver Silver: (2014, 2018)
Bronze Bronze: (1951, 2006, 2010)
FIBA Asia Challenge
Appearances4
MedalsGold Gold: (2012, 2014, 2016)
Retired numbers1 (15)
First international
 France 62–30 Iran 
(London, United Kingdom; 1 August 1948)
Biggest win
 Iran 141– 29 Maldives 
(Medina, Saudi Arabia; 10 April 2005)
Biggest defeat
 United States 120–66 Iran 
(Saitama, Japan; 28 July 2021)

Iran is one of Asia’s most successful federations. Since the turn of the century, they’ve won three FIBA Asia Cup tournaments, while also claiming a silver and bronze medal at the competition. Iran has also qualified for every edition of the FIBA World Cup since 2010, and have participated in two Olympic Games (2008, 2020).

History

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iran team in 1948 summer Olympic

Early years

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In 1948, the Iran national basketball team participated in the 1948 London Olympics, their first appearance in the competition. In 1951, Iran participated in the first Asian Games held in Delhi and placed third in Asia. In 1959, Iran participated in the EuroBasket held in Turkey.

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.They also Defeat Serbia (72-70) before the start of the tournaent in 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball.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 won all three group matches against Chinese Taipei, Kuwait, Uzbekistan to make it to the next round.In the second round Iran Won Japan, Philippines and South Korea.In the Quarterfinals Iran wins Qatar and in Semifinals Iran wins Jordan.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 lost against USA, Brazil, Croatia, Slovenia and one win against Tunisia.Iran finished 1–4 in Group B, good for 19th place.

2013 FIBA Asia Championship

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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 Cup

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In the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain, Iran national basketball team was grouped with Spain, Egypt, Serbia, Brazil and France in Group A.Iran national basketball team, in its first meeting in the opening game, faced Spain, the world's second-ranked team, and succumbed to defeat.On the sixth day of the 2014 FIBA World Cup and in its last match of the preliminary stage, Iran faced the French and succumbed to defeat, and finally ranked 21st with 4 losses and one win against Egypt. Iran lost against France and Serbia with close results.

2019 FIBA World Cup

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In the 2019 FIBA World Cup of China, which was held in Asia for the first time, the iran team was grouped in Group C with the teams of Spain, Puerto Rico and Tunisia.The iran team lost all three games and competed with the Angolan and Philippine teams to rank 17-32 (for the first time in this period, 32 teams participated) and won both matches, and thanks to the goal difference, they are better than China, which had lost against Nigeria, went to the Tokyo Olympics as the best Asian team.

2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

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

Iran is in group A of the competitions along with USA, France, and Czech.Iranian men’s basketball team conceded a 78-84 defeat against Czech at the opening match of the basketball competitions of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.In their second game at the Olympics, Iranian basketball players lost to the USA 66-120.Iran’s national basketball team finished the campaign in the 2020 Olympics with a 79-62 loss against France at Saitama Super Arena.Iran, in its three appearance at the Olympics, conceded three defeats in Group A.

2023 FIBA World Cup

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Iran was only one of three teams at the World Cup 2023 to go home without a win. Finishing bottom in Group G after resounding defeats to Brazil, Côte d'Ivoire and Spain. Further disappointment was to follow in the classification games against France and Lebanon. After the final play of their campaign, one man took centre stage, Hamed Haddadi, bidding a final farewell after 4 consecutive World Cup runs with Iran. At the other end of his career is Mohammad Amini. The 18-years-old who plays for AS Monaco Basket, played 30 minutes a game and was Iran's top tournament scorer.

Competitive record

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Olympic Games

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Summer Olympic Games record
Year Round Position Pld W L
  1936 Did not enter
  1948 13th place match 14th place 7 2 5
  1952 Did not enter
  1956
  1960
  1964
  1968
  1972
  1976
  1980 Boycotted the event
  1984
  1988 Did not enter
  1992 Did not qualify
  1996
  2000
  2004
  2008 Preliminary round 11th place 5 0 5
  2012 Did not qualify
  2016
  2020 Preliminary round 12th place 3 0 3
  2024 Did not qualify
  2028 Future events
  2032
Total 3/20 15 2 13

FIBA World Cup

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FIBA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W L Round Position Pld W L
  1950 Did not enter Qualification via Wild Card
  1954
  1959
  1963
  1967 Qualification via FIBA Asia Cup
  1970
  1974 Did not qualify
  1978 Did not enter
  1982 Did not qualify
  1986
  1990
  1994
  1998
  2002
  2006
  2010 Preliminary round 19th place 5 1 4
  2014 Preliminary round 20th place 5 1 4
  2019 17th–32nd Classification 23rd place 5 2 3 Second round 3rd in group 12 8 4
    2023 17th–32nd Classification 31st place 5 0 5 Second round 4th in group 12 6 6
  2027 To be determined To be determined
Total 4/19 20 4 16 2/2 24 14 10

FIBA Asia Cup

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FIBA Asia Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W L
  1960 Did not enter
  1963
  1965
  1967
  1969
  1971
  1973 Championship 5th place 10 4 6
  1975 Did not enter
  1977
  1979
  1981 Classification 7th–12th 8th place 7 3 4
  1983 Classification 5th–8th 5th place 6 5 1
  1985 Classification 5th–8th 8th place 6 2 4
  1987 Did not enter
  1989 5th place game 5th place 7 4 3
  1991 5th place game 6th place 8 4 4
  1993 3rd place game 4th place 6 4 2
  1995 9th place game 10th place 8 5 3
  1997 7th place game 8th place 7 3 4
  1999 Did not qualify
  2001
  2003 5th place game 5th place 7 4 3
  2005 5th place game 6th place 8 4 4
  2007 Final Champions 8 7 1
  2009 Final Champions 9 9 0
  2011 5th place game 5th place 9 8 1
  2013 Final Champions 9 9 0
  2015 3rd place game 3rd place 9 7 2
  2017 Final Runners-up 6 5 1
  2022 Quarterfinals 5th place 4 3 1
  2025 Qualified
Total 3 titles 19/31 134 90 44

Asian Games

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Asian Games record
Year Round Position Pld W L
  1951 Round-robin 3rd place 4 2 2
  1954 Did not enter
  1958
  1962
  1966 7th place game 7th place 7 3 4
  1970 7th place game 7th place 8 6 2
  1974 5th place game 6th place 7 3 4
  1978 Did not enter
  1982
  1986
  1990 7th place game 7th place 6 3 3
  1994 7th place game 8th place 6 2 4
  1998 7th place game 7th place 6 2 4
  2002 Did not enter
  2006 Bronze medal game 3rd place 8 5 3
  2010 Bronze medal game 3rd place 8 6 2
  2014 Gold medal game Runners-up 7 6 1
  2018 Gold medal game Runners-up 4 3 1
  2022 Classification 5th–6th 5th place 6 5 1
  2026 Future events
  2030
  2034
Total 12/19 77 46 31

FIBA Asia Challenge

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FIBA Asia Challenge record
Year Round Position Pld W L
  2004 Qualified but withdrew
  2008
  2010 5th place game 6th place (B) 7 3 4
  2012 Final Champions 7 7 0
  2014 Final Champions 7 6 1
  2016 Final Champions 8 8 0
Total 3 titles 4/6 29 24 5

FIBA Diamond Ball

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FIBA Diamond Ball record
Year Round Position Pld W L
  2000 Did not qualified
  2004
  2008 3rd place game 4th place 3 1 2
Total 1/3 3 1 2

West Asian Championship

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Year Rank Pld W L
  1999 4th place 4 1 3
  2000 4th place 4 2 2
  2001 3rd place 4 2 2
   2002 Runners-up 4 3 1
  2004 Champions 4 4 0
  2005 Champions 4 4 0
  2008 Did not enter
  2010 Champions (B) 3 3 0
  2011 Champions 3 3 0
  2012 Runners-up 5 4 1
  2013 Champions 3 3 0
  2014 Runners-up (U18) 5 4 1
  2015 Did not enter
  2016 Champions 4 4 0
  2017 Runners-up 5 4 1
Total 13/15 52 41 11

Other tournaments

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Honours

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Competition       Total
FIBA Asia Cup 3 1 1 5
Asian Games 0 2 3 5
FIBA Asia Challenge 3 0 0 3
Total 6 3 4 13

Individual Awards

Team

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Current roster

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Roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[5][6]

Iran men's national basketball team – 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
G 3 Mohammad Sina Vahedi 22 – (2001-01-08)8 January 2001 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Kalleh  
C 4 Meisam Mirzaei 31 – (1992-04-16)16 April 1992 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Kalleh  
G 5 Sajjad Mashayekhi 29 – (1994-02-23)23 February 1994 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Zob Ahan Isfahan  
F 6 Mohammad Amini 18 – (2005-04-26)26 April 2005 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Nancy  
SF 7 Navid Rezaeifar 27 – (1996-08-23)23 August 1996 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Palayesh Naft Abadan  
PG 8 Behnam Yakhchali 28 – (1995-07-12)12 July 1995 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Gladiators Treves  
SF 10 Piter Girgoorian 21 – (2002-02-27)27 February 2002 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) Mahram Tehran  
PF 14 Arsalan Kazemi 33 – (1990-04-22)22 April 1990 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Zob Ahan Isfahan  
C 15 Hamed Haddadi (C) 38 – (1985-05-19)19 May 1985 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in) Sichuan Blue Whales  
SG 17 Matin Aghajanpour 22 – (2001-03-14)14 March 2001 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Kalleh  
PF 30 Jalal Aghamiri 22 – (2001-01-29)29 January 2001 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) Kalleh  
C 32 Hasan Aliakbari 27 – (1996-07-07)7 July 1996 2.18 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

Past Rosters

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Olympic Games

1948 London Ashtari, Ehsasi, Esfandiary, Hashemi, Karandish, Mohtadi, Rafati, Sadeghi, Salabi, Shademan, Soroudi, Soudipour, Zadegan, Coach: Kazem Rambari

2008 Beijing 4 Doraghi, 5 Amini, 6 Davari, 7 Kamrani, 8 Davarpanah, 9 Zandi, 10 Afagh, 11 Sohrabnejad, 12 Sahakian, 13 Nabipour, 14 Bahrami, 15 Haddadi: Coach. Rajko Toroman

2020 Paris 4 Vahedi, 5 Jalalpoor, 7 Hassanzadeh, 8 Davarpanah, 13 Jamshidi, 14 Nikkhah Bahrami, 15 Haddadi, 17 Rezaeifar, 20 Rostampour, 23 Geramipoor, 41 Kazemi, 88 Yakhchali, Coach: Mehran Shahintab

FIBA Basketball World Cup

2010 turkey 4 Nabipour, 5 Davoudi, 6 Davari, 7 Kamrani, 8 Veisi, 9 Zandi, 10 Hassanzadeh, 11 Sahakian, 12 Kazemi, 13 Kardoust, 14 Davarpanah, 15 Haddadi, Coach: Veselin Matić

2014 Spain 4 Arghavan, 5 Mashayekhi, 6 Yakhchali, 7 Kamrani, 8 Kazemi, 9 Zangeneh, 10 Afagh, 11 Sahakian, 12 Kardoust, 13 Jamshidi, 14 Bahrami, 15 Haddadi, Coach: Mehmed Bečirovič

2019 China 1 Mozafari, 4 Mirzaei, 5 Mashayekhi, 6 Hosseinzadeh, 7 Hassanzadeh, 8 Yakhchali, 12 Zangeneh, 13 Jamshidi, 14 Bahrami, 15 Haddadi, 20 Rostampour, 23 Geramipoor, Coach: Mehran Shahintab

2023 Philippines, Japan, Indonesia 3 Vahedi, 4 Mirzaei, 5 Mashayekhi, 6 Amini, 7 Rezaeifar, 8 Yakhchali, 10 Girgoorian, 14 Kazemi, 15 Haddadi, 17 Aghajanpour, 30 Agha Miri, 32 Aliakbari, Coach: Hakan Demir

FIBA Asia Cup

2003 China 4 Tajik, 5 Davari, 6 Veisi, 7 Kamrani, 8 S. Bahrami, 9 Zandi, 10 Afagh, 11 Sohrabnejad, 12 Askarnejad, 13 Ahmadian, 14 Rouzbahani, 15 Afradi, Coach: Mostafa Hashemi

2005 Qatar 4 Tajik, 5 A. Bahrami, 6 Amini, 7 Kamrani, 8 S. Bahrami, 9 Zandi, 10 Afagh, 11 Sohrabnejad, 12 Rouzbahani, 13 Shahsavand, 14 Tabeshnia, 15 Haddadi, Coach: Mohammad Mehdi Izadpanah

2007 Japan 4 Doraghi, 5 Amini, 6 Davari, 7 Kamrani, 8 A. Bahrami, 9 Akbari, 10 Afagh, 11 Rouzbahani, 12 Sahakian, 13 Nabipour, 14 S. Bahrami, 15 Haddadi, Coach: Rajko Toroman

2009 China 4 Tajik, 5 Amini, 6 Davari, 7 Kamrani, 8 Davoudi, 9 Akbari, 10 Afagh, 11 Sohrabnejad, 12 Sahakian, 13 Doraghi, 14 Bahrami, 15 Haddadi, Coach: Veselin Matić

2011 China 4 Davarpanah, 5 Davoudi, 6 Davari, 7 Kamrani, 8 Atashi, 9 Kazemi, 10 Afagh, 11 Sahakian, 12 Kardoust, 13 Sohrabnejad, 14 Bahrami, 15 Haddadi, Coach: Veselin Matić

2013 Philippines 4 Jamshidi, 5 Davoudi, 6 Davari, 7 Kamrani, 8 Veisi, 9 Sahakian, 10 Afagh, 11 Sohrabnejad, 12 Kardoust, 13 Arghavan, 14 Bahrami, 15 Haddadi, Coach: Mehmed Bečirovič

2015 China 4 Mashayekhi, 5 Yakhchali, 6 Davari, 7 Kamrani, 8 Davarpanah, 9 Hassanzadeh, 10 Afagh, 11 Sahakian, 12 Kardoust, 13 Jamshidi, 14 Bahrami, 15 Haddadi, Coach: Dirk Bauermann

2017 Lebanon 4 Mirzaei, 5 Mashayekhi, 6 Aslani, 7 Rezaeifar, 8 Yakhchali, 9 Dalirzahan, 10 Niktash, 11 Sahakian, 12 Arghavan, 13 Jamshidi, 14 Kazemi, 15 Haddadi, Coach: Mehran Hatami

2022 Indonesia 1 Mozafari, 5 Mashayekhi, 7 Hassanzadeh, 8 Yakhchali, 10 Yousof Vand, 12 Zangeneh, 13 Jamshidi, 14 Kazemi, 15 Haddadi, 17 Rezaeifar, 23 Pazrofteh, 71 Aghajanpour, Coach: Saeed Armaghani

FIBA EuroBasket

1959 Turkey 3 Salabi, 4 Kamali, 5 Meshun, 6 Agakuzik, 7 Ufervizi, 9 Taçbehs, 10 Avendi, 11 Veisi, 12 Vafai, 13 Rezi, Coach: Hassan Nikli

Asian Games

1951 New Delhi Khaleghpour, Mashhoun, Masoumi, Mokhberi, Oshar, Razi, Safiyar, Salabi, Soroudi, Soudipour, Coach: -

2006 Doha 4 Tajik, 5 Amini, 6 Veisi, 7 Kamrani, 8 S. Bahrami, 9 Zandi, 10 Afagh, 11 Honardoust, 12 A. Bahrami, 13 Ahmadian, 14 Nabipour, 15 Haddadi, Coach: Fred Oniga

2010 Guangzhou 4 Amini, 5 Davoudi, 6 Davari, 7 Kamrani, 8 Davarpanah, 9 Sahakian, 10 Afagh, 11 Sohrabnejad, 12 Jamshidi, 13 Kardoust, 14 Bahrami, 15 Doraghi, Coach: Veselin Matić

2014 Incheon 4 Arghavan, 5 Mashayekhi, 6 Yakhchali, 7 Kamrani, 8 Zangeneh, 9 Aslani, 10 Afagh, 11 Sahakian, 12 Kardoust, 13 Jamshidi, 14 Bahrami, 15 Haddadi, Coach: Mehmed Bečirovič

2018 Jakarta 4 Mirzaei, 5 Mashayekhi, 7 Davoudi, 8 Yakhchali, 10 Dalirzahan, 12 Arghavan, 13 Jamshidi, 14 Bahrami, 15 Haddadi, 17 Rezaeifar, 41 Kazemi, 77 Hassanzadeh, Coach: Mehran Hatami

2022 Hangzhou 1 Shahrian, 3 Vahedi, 4 Mirzaei, 5 Mashayekhi, 7 Rezaeifar, 10 Girgoorian, 11 Gholizadeh, 14 Kazemi, 17 Aghajanpour, 21 Torabi, 23 Pazirofteh, 32 Aliakbari, Coach: Hakan Demir

Head coaches

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Note: The following list may not be complete

Notable players

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Hamed Haddadi

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Hamed Haddadi in 2020

Center Hamed Haddadi was the first Iranian to play in the NBA. Although he went undrafted in 2004, Haddadi signed with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008. He appeared in more than 150 games for the Grizzlies and the Phoenix Suns.

On the international stage, Haddadi won medals at the FIBA Asia Cup, the Asian Games, and the FIBA Asia Challenge. At the FIBA Asia Cup, he won five medals, including three golds. Haddadi is one of only three players to win the FIBA Asia Cup MVP award since 2007, taking home four of the seven MVP trophies during that run.

At age 38, Haddadi made his final World Cup appearance at FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. He was named to the Iranian squad in 2010, 2014, and 2019, and was named to Iran's extended roster for 2023.

The Iran Basketball Federation retired Hamed Haddadi's number 15 jersey on 21 February 2025, ahead of a asia cup Qualifying game against India. It was the first jersey number retirement iran in any sport.

Others

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Kit supplier

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Manufacturer

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2008–2009: Merooj

2010–present: Peak

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 25 February 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  2. ^ a b "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. ^ "Announcement of the list of players of the national basketball team for the 2023 World Cup". Iribf.ir. 21 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Team roster: Iran" (PDF). FIBA. 25 August 2023.
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