The first ever to play basketball in any standard or level in the US is Behdad Sami of Iran.
He was born June 20, 1986. His nationality is American – Iranian and he is 6’0 tall. He is also the first Iranian to play in Portugal on October 2010.
His first professional stint is in the ABA(American Basketball Association) minor league in 2007. Sami went to Southridge Highschool in 2005 and then transferred to Lake Oswego High School for two years. After graduating, he was rewarded with a full athletic scholarship to Linn-Benton College in Oregon where he attended a season in the NWAACC before turning into a professional basketball player.
Initially in his professional career, he played for the Georgia Grizzlies and he was assigned to be in a point guard position in the ABA and he also played professionally overseas. It was measured that his vertical leap was 46’’ which is very high for any professional athlete.
It was also recorded that he had a 40 yard dash time of 4.469 seconds. In December 2008, there was a SAQ(Speed,Agility and quickness) test that showed that he can reach and touch a 10 foot 9 inch mark on a concrete surfaced facility. He played in many countries and leagues around the world including joining professional major league teams in Qatar and Iran. In 2010, he started the season with the San Diego Surf of the ABA but within a month of the season, he decided to sign with the Guifoes Sports Club in Portugal’s ProLiga.
He was selected in a reality show of Gatorade “Quest for G; The Series” where thousands of athLetes were also scouted.
The show’s goal is the train athletes and transform them into an Olympic ready athletes for their specific individual sport. Eventhough he was selected because of his skills and abilities in basketball, due to the concept of individual sports, he decided to take the trials for tennis because Sami has a strong background in the sport.
In conclusion, Behdad Sami is an exceptional athlete with a freak of nature vertical leap of 46’’ with tremendous basketball sklls. He has so much experience in professional basketball that hopefully soon he could play in the NBA. He is only 24 years old and there is still a lot of opportunities for him to showcase his talents and to be a recognizable name in the world of basketball.