TEHRAN (Iran) - Arsalan Kazemi is trying to chill as much as he can, he said in a live interview on the @FIBAAsiaCup Instagram account. He’s playing a little bit of FIFA and Call of Duty on PlayStation to keep himself entertained. He even bought a 1,500-piece puzzle to work with as well just to tease and tickle the brain now and then.

“It’s a picture of a beach in Italy,” he revealed, possibly noting that it’s a destination he might visit when this situation resolves. “I haven’t finished it yet; I’m still working on it. But I think I can finish it today or tomorrow.”

He followed through and finished the puzzle later on that day, but not after a lengthy talk covering a wide range of topics from a choice of hairstyles to some of his favorite high-flying moments playing for Iran.

Hair-do or Hair-don’t?

Kazemi has gone through an impressive collection of hair and facial hairstyles playing for Iran, from sporting a clean look in World Cup 2010 to growing out a full beard and rocking the headband in Asia Cup 2017.

One that stands out was the almost-Handle Bar mustache he sported in his first Asia Cup almost a decade ago.

“In 2011, I was a rookie, and they kind of made me shave my beard and leave the mustache on,” Kazemi recalled of the hazing, though. “But It was like something that the whole team did, Hamed [Haddadi] did it, Samad [Nikkah Bahrami] did it.”

However, the look that Kazemi prefers the most throughout these years is the one he’s currently seen rocking, whether it was at Asia Cup 2017 or during the World Cup Asian Qualifiers. With a full beard and a colored headband to tame his tangles, Kazemi looks rugged and tough, which is perfect for the way he plays the game.

Though he seemed pretty content about this style, for now, Kazemi hinted that there’s always an opportunity for change.

“I’ve never done the full horseshow in a FIBA game, but I did it when I was playing in College, and that was definitely one of my favorite looks. I think the fans really loved it, too.”

“We’ll see. It’s just like when you walk into a tournament, and you see how you feel. It just comes.”

Not Like Mike

Kazemi has worn several jersey numbers playing for Iran over the years. One number that he is associated with, in particular, is the number 14 or a reversed version in 41. It’s not a common number, but Arsalan has his reasons.

“When I was a kid playing in the youth teams, I always wanted number 9 because Michael Jordan would wear number 9,” Kazemi started. “As you know, in FIBA, they just started letting you wear any number you want. But before it was only like 4 to 15, so it was always a fight around number 9 because Michael used to wear that in the Olympics.”

Arsalan eventually did get to wear number 9 when he suited up for Iran at Asia Cup 2011. As a kid, however, he had to find something else.

“I just decided to pick number 14 because nobody wanted it, and I wanted to make it famous. Then, I think the time that I’m talking about, Samad was really young, and he was just starting to play on the senior national team, so he made it pretty famous, too.”

(Samad Nikkahbahrami)

“But I think I did my part, a little bit, in the US,” he said, referring to his days as number 14 of the Oregon Ducks. “That was the reason I was wearing number 14.”

The USA experience

At the age of 16, Kazemi and his family saw an opportunity and took it. He went all the way across the oceans to the United States and was determined to better himself as a basketball player.

Kazemi became the first Iranian player to play in NCAA Division 1 at Rice before transferring to Oregon. He then became the first Iranian play to be drafted to the NBA in the second round with the 54^th pick. Arsalan set out to blaze trails and trails he blazed indeed.

 

Throughout his journey in the wild, wild west that is the USA, Kazemi learned how different the game was and found a niche in how he would be able to be most effective on the court.

“The speed is very different in the states, as you can see right now, the game has totally changed,” he said of the difference between playing in Asia and the USA. “It’s kind of the same way right now overseas as well, but I’m talking about back in 2008-2009, you had to be able to guard the perimeter as much as guard the post, so those are the main things that were different.”

“The athleticism, too. You know that they jump really high, so to be able to compete with them, you had to be physical and use a different kind of strength to compete with those guys.”

Kazemi found a way. He was - and still is - known for his defense and hustle, especially in Oregon, where he bagged a spot on the PAC-12 All-Defensive team in 2013. He was known for his rebounding, where he was once quoted apologizing his teammates if he stole their rebounds, but he just jumps to get every single one, and that’s how it works.

“When I was playing in college, I wasn’t getting much playing time [at first],” Kazemi said. He was averaging only 17 minutes in his first three games at Rice, and it was bothering him.

“Then, we played against Arizona, and I got double-digit rebounds that game. My coach came to me afterward and told me I will play you 30 minutes a game if you give me double-digit rebounds every game. So it kind of took off from there.

“I was always a good rebounder; I just didn’t pay attention to it.”

“Since then, I always get a lot of rebounds, unless Hamed is on the team,” Kazemi laughed. “I mean, I still get rebounds, but with him, it’s tough. I always get rebounds. I always like to do that dirty work that no one is willing to do; it’s just how my game is.”

For his tenacity and top-level effort on the court, Kazemi was a fan favorite, and that earned him some pretty cool monikers.

“I have many nicknames, especially from when I was in the US.”

“’ Beast from the Middle East,’” he listed. “I think anybody that goes from the Middle East to the US kind of gets that nickname. Also, they called me ‘Madman from I-Ran,’ that was another nickname that I got.”

“King of Dunks”

The 2.01M 6’7” forward got another nickname to add to the list when he crossed back over from the US.

“In Asia specifically, they called me ‘King of Dunks,’ something like that.”

It’s not exactly subtle, but the name fits. He had already compiled an impressive reel of high-flying slams from his collegiate playing days and continued to do so in international play for Iran.

Fans wouldn’t even have to look too far back to find some of his finest works. There was a thunderous one-handed slam against Kazakhstan at the World Cup Qualifiers in early 2018. A year before that, he was throwing down some nice jams throughout Asia Cup 2017 as well.

However, those pale in comparison to some of his favorites.

“One of my favorite ones was when I really young, too; it happened in 2010 in China, and it was my first official game. It was a friendly game, but it was my first game that I played for the senior national team, and we played against China,” He recollected. “I kind of postered Yi Jianlian and he was in the NBA, and it was a really big deal for me that dunk. I still have a picture of it, and every time I think about it, it just gives me chills.”

 

“Another dunk that I really like was in 2011 against Korea, and, I think, I took off literally one step inside from the free-throw line, and that was a nasty dunk.”

Kazemi had so many dunks that he admitted that one had slipped his mind.

He found an open runway at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Italy back in 2016 against Greece. Kazemi took two dribbles and detonated into the air, even with the burly Ioannis Bourousis ready to contest.

Let’s just say it might not have been the best decision made by Bourousis at that moment.

“To be honest, I forgot about this one,” Kazemi said, brightened with a smile. “That was a pretty good one, too.”

What made the moment even better was that trailing right behind Bourousis was current megastar Giannis Antetokoupo, who got to be in the frame of the poster.

“Trust me, I got a picture of that, too, where I’m flexing, and I got Giannis on the picture.”

Memories in Asia

Fans haven’t seen much of Kazemi in the Asia Cup even though he’s been playing internationally for Iran for a decade. He’s only played in the Asia Cup twice for a total of 15 games, averaging 11.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.

Despite the short stint, Kazemi has some pretty fond memories playing in the competition.

“One of my favorite games was against Korea in the Semi-Finals of 2017,” he said, speaking of his 19-point, 10-rebound performance where he made all but one of his nine shots.

“I think I had a decent game, and I really enjoyed that game. It helped us get to the Finals.”

 

Kazemi had faced many great players throughout his basketball career, whether it was when he was playing in the US or professionally. Of course, a large number of his fiercest opponents were from here at the Asia Cup.

“Definitely the Chinese players,” said Kazemi of who he enjoyed matching up with. “I mean, I played against Wang Zhizhi, he was one of the best players from China and Yi Jianlian.”

“China had excellent players. Korea, they had very good players. Japan also had good players.”

Among one of those foes even started as an idol for the young Arsalan, before getting to face each other on opposing sides of the hardwood.

“One player, in particular, I really enjoyed playing against was Fadi El Khatib because when I was younger, I really really liked him,” Kazemi said. He even got to play against Fadi in one of his final games, knocking out his idol from the Quarter-Finals in Asia Cup 2017.

“I remember that I saw him when I was 16 years old. I went to Dubai to get a visa to go to the US for the first time, and I saw him at the Emirates mall.

“It was just it meant the world to me. I took a picture with him and everything.”

Knowing that it’s no surprise that Kazemi has his childhood idol listed among his All-Time Asia Starting Five. Filling out the rest of that lineup wasn’t an easy task, but it’s one that Kazemi says he’d enjoying coaching just because it’s a group of guys that knows basketball really well.

“I’m going to name 6 [players] because it’s really hard for me to leave one out,” Kazemi admitted. “But I’d go with my Starting 5 to be Yao [Ming] at the 5. Hamed at the 4, and then Samad, Fadi El Khatib, and Mahdi Kamrani.”

 

“Then the sixth man is going to be Yi Jianlian because it’s hard to leave him out. He’s one of the best players in Asia as well. So those are my starting five, and Yi’s basically going to be my one bench player.”

Future for the Pioneer

Arsalan Kazemi’s name is tagged along with plenty of “firsts” in Iran basketball history books. Being a pioneer himself, he recognizes those that paved the way before him and knew how much they did to make it possible for Iran to be a basketball powerhouse in Asia.

“A lot,” he said of the influence that the generation of Hamed, Samad, Mahdi, and others had on him.

“Not just on me, but also a lot of younger kids that were playing basketball at the time. Just seeing that it’s possible to reign championship in Asia because before when we started playing basketball, it was all China Korea and Japan. Those were the powerhouses in Asia.”

“Them winning the first championship, it just basically showed us that we got talent in Iran as well, and if we work hard, then it’s also possible for us to win medals in Asia and go even further.”

Now it’s time for Arsalan to take up the torch. It’s his turn to inspire the next generation … and he knows where he wants to start.

“I mean, obviously, the Olympics is the top level for every athlete in the world,” he said.

 

“I haven’t been able to play in the Olympics, so that’s been one of my main goals. If it’s possible to play in the Olympics and then just to show the way for the younger generation to be able to go through what I went through, just to help them out a little bit, if I can, to maybe send them over to the NCAA. Just to show them the way, those are the things that I’m looking forward to doing.”

For now, Arsalan Kazemi is just hoping for brighter days in the near future for everyone. Consider it his early birthday wish as he will be turning 30 on April 22.

“Well, [year] 2020 since the start it’s been really tough all around the world on people,” he said. “My wish is for things to get better for everybody because I see it’s really tough, especially for the economy. I just wish that this 2020 gets better for everybody.”

FIBA