Niktash Can Make an Impact for Iran at World Cup Qualifiers

Niktash debuted for Iran this year at the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 in Beirut, Lebanon, but he played sparingly, averaging under 7 minutes per game.

He bounced back in the recently concluded Asia Champions Cup 2017, though, averaging nearly 18 minutes per contest and playing in each of Petrochimi Iran's 7 assignments. Niktash served as a tremendous floor spacer for Petrochimi, hitting 2.0 triples and norming 9.0 points per game as the Iranian team made it all the way to the Semi-Final and finished in fourth place.

That's the kind of performance that can really help Iran, especially when the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers begin next month. Team Melli is set to face Iraq and then hosts Qatar. Though the Iranians are certainly deeper and bigger than both those teams, they will surely benefit from having someone like Niktash to keep defenses honest, according to fiba.basketball.

This is especially true now that old reliables like Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, Mahdi Kamrani and Hamed Afagh won't be around. Young guns like Behnam Yakhchali and Sajjad Mashayekhi will certainly be at the top of the pecking order for Iran, but they still need someone like Niktash, who stands 2.03m, to give the team added size and versatility at the wing positions. He is actually big enough to also play the four spot against smaller teams, which can create interesting matchup problems favoring Iran.

There is no doubt that Iran is going to be among the heavy favorites to do well in the Asian Qualifiers and make it to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China, and having someone like the Paris-born Niktash will only serve to make the former Asian champion that much stronger.