Hamed Haddadi, the one Iranian to play within the National Basketball Association, retired from worldwide play on the age of 38 after his staff was eradicated from the World Cup, state media reported.
The 7ft 2ins (2.18 metre) centre made the announcement late Saturday after Iran misplaced 81-73 to Lebanon in Jakarta to exit the World Cup after 5 consecutive losses, dashing hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Olympics.
“I have loved the national team and basketball, but one day you have to go and today is that day,” state news company IRNA quoted Haddadi as saying.
“It was a very difficult decision and I was hesitating until the last moment, but I decided to say goodbye and ended my career in the national team after the match with Lebanon.”
Haddadi turned the primary and, as but, solely Iranian participant to hitch the NBA when he signed for the Memphis Grizzlies as an undrafted free agent.
Between 2008 and 2013 he appeared in 151 common season video games for Memphis and Phoenix averaging 2.2 factors per recreation. He additionally made 13 post-season appearances for the Grizzlies.
Haddadi performed 27 minutes towards Lebanon and scored 14 factors. He totalled 40 factors in his final World Cup.
Since 2020 he has been taking part in for the Sichuan Blue Whales, his fourth stint with the Chinese Basketball Association staff.
—Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
