JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - The lights have never been too bright for Sina Vahedi and that's precisely why his potential FIBA Asia Cup 2025 appearance is filled with excitement, especially within Iran.
The 24-year-old guard is part of the Team Melli roster gearing up for the August 5-17 showpiece and his inclusion to the final 12-man lineup, if ever, would mark his debut in the quadrennial continental meet.
Yes, as seasoned as he's been in the international arena, the Tehran-native has yet to see action in FIBA's flagship event for national teams in Asia in which the Iranians have conquered for a total of three times.
Interestingly, he's played in the Olympic Games firstly before any other contest with the men's squad - the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021 was actually his maiden foray with Iran after making the leap from the youth level.
Thus, the anticipation surrounding his looming appearance in the Asia Cup, as fans and pundits alike have witnessed him grow over the years - and make a case of becoming their lead PG for years to come.
Vahedi served as one of their more solid pieces during the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers. In five games, he averaged 11.8 points on 55.3-percent shooting from the floor, including a 42.9-percent clip from deep.
But if those aren't remarkable enough, a look at his body of work in the FIBA club competition scene should provide even more reason why there has been much buzz around him for the Jeddah festivities.
The 1.85 M (6'1") playmaker rose as one of FIBA West Asia Super League's (WASL) best players after shining for a vengeful Shahrdary Gorgan side that returned to the pan-regional tilt in the 2023-24 season.
In his debut WASL season, Vahedi posted per-game norms of 17.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists as he led the Iran Basketball League outfit to a runner-up finish behind rivals Al Riyadi in the WASL-West Asia League.
He went on to hike his production come the WASL Final 8 in Qatar with 18.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists to help Gorgan cop bronze - and punch a ticket to the Basketball Champions League Asia (BCL Asia) inaugurals.
Gorgan reached the BCL Asia Semi-Finals and finished fourth, but Vahedi gave his crew a reason to cheer about as he earned Tournament All-Star Five honors after tallying 17.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists.
He would be blessed enough to pull off an encore come the 2025 season, albeit with Tabiat Basketball which nabbed the 2023-24 Iranian league championship, enabling the young ball club to qualify for WASL.
And just like in the previous season, he'd find himself taking silver again after helping his team to a 5-3 win-loss record in the double round-robin WASL-West Asia League in Beirut after producing a 17.1-4.0-5.3 stat line.
Finishing as runners-up sent Tabiat to the WASL Final 8 and that's where Vahedi really shone so bright. He tallied 22.3 points and 5.8 rebounds as they went all the way to the Final before bowing to the Yellow Castle.
He returned to BCL Asia with Tabiat and although they couldn't get past the Quarter-Finals after losing to eventual champions Utsunomiya Brex, it was a commendable stint for him (13.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.7 APG) nonetheless.
If those campaigns are taken into consideration, and if he indeed becomes a member of their official lineup for Jeddah, then perhaps we're all bound to witness a memorable Asia Cup debut from Vahedi.
He and Iran are situated in Group B with traditional contenders Japan, fellow West Asia competitor Syria, and the debuting Guam. To know more about Team Melli's upcoming FIBA Asia Cup 2025 campaign, click here.
FIBA