JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - Hamed Haddadi felt a kick of nostalgia upon setting foot at the King Abdullah Sports City to watch Iran raise the curtains of their FIBA Asia Cup 2025 campaign versus Guam, Wednesday.
He'e never been to this city until now but the sentimentality stemmed from the fact that he's attending the continental meet as a fan for the first time - that, after playing in all previous editions beginning in 2005.
The epitome of longevity, indeed.
"I touched the ball here just now and [it felt like] the first time we played a long time ago," the 40-year-old said smiling, as he actually helped some players warm up at the playing court about an hour before tip-off.
Haddadi retired from national team duties following Iran's final game in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 versus Lebanon in an emotional scene that was easily one of the most riveting of that event.
The Cedars did win the Classification 17-32 encounter but even the team knew that the night belonged to the man regarded as the greatest Iranian basketball player of all time, giving him the adoration he deserves.
In fact, both squads forgot all about the result and celebrated at center court at the Indonesia Arena as the towering big was, indeed, the center of attention on that very night where everybody tipped their hats.
Fast forward to now and Haddadi continues to support the program he helped build, flying all the way from his hometown to make sure that he'd be present - and provide some guidance every step of the way.
"Of course, always supporting the Iranian national team. I came here last night and came to watch our players to support them--and to watch all the games," said the three-time Asia Cup champion.
"Happy to be back in the Asia Cup as a supporter, especially to the Iran team," he added.
Team Melli made sure not to disappoint, putting on a dominant showing to beat the debuting Guamanians, 77-52, to gain a share of the early lead in Group B with Japan, who beat Syria earlier in the day, 99-68.
It was indeed a solid start for the relatively young team's campaign in the prestigious showpiece, and Haddadi himself is a fan of how future-oriented the program's approach has been over the last few years.
But he knows, too, that developing a team to the best possible it could be doesn't happen in an instant, that's why he's preaching patience most especially to their faithful and skeptics - trust the process, as they say.
"You know, we're changing generations, and I say this all the time: we have to be patient," he said. "People gotta be patient. Because we're changing our generations and they need more training time."
"They need more games, like good games, with European teams and that," the two-time Olympian added. "I think they're getting better and better every game. We have talented young players and we hope they get better."
Next for the Iranians are, interestingly, the Japanese on Friday at 14:10 local time in a rivalry affair. And Haddadi, for sure, will be there with the squad to show support as they look to take the solo lead in their pool.
But more than boosting their Final Phase chances and whatnot, what he really hopes to see is for the present-day Team Melli to develop consistency as they all aim to tap their true potential, especially as a collective.
"We're trying to get a good result," said Haddadi.
"Every game we have to play hard. Every single game," he added. 'It doesn't matter if it's a good team or a bad team or a great team. We have to play the same level every game, every minute, every second."
FIBA