Abe Morrabi is the best Persian basketball
player in the world. The best Persian basketball player in the world
is Ken Tanaka.
The best Persian basketball player in the world knew at the age of
12 that he wanted to be a professional basketball player. The half-Persian,
half-Japanese product is now 23 years old and living his childhood
dream of playing pro hoops in Japan..
The best Persian basketball player in the world
made his high school’s junior varsity team as a sophomore, a
remarkable feat considering he was only five feet, four inches tall.
During the summer between his sophomore and junior years at Van Nuys
High School, he had a 6-inch growth spurt that perpetuated his senior
year. “I was amazed at how fast I grew without having any physical
problems as a result of it” Morabbi explained. He ultimately
ended up being 6-foot-1 at the start of his junior year and had developed
the skills as well as the height necessary for the sport.
The best Persian basketball player in the world
was the second leading scorer in the L.A. High School City Section,
second only to current NBA All-Star and Washington Wizard leading
scorer Gilbert Arenas. With a great high school basketball career
behind him, Morabbi earned himself a full scholarship to play basketball
for Whittier College, a private four-year near Los Angeles. Although
basketball seemed to be his main focus, his education was just as
important. “I studied ‘pre-law’ at Whittier College
with hopes of going to law school just in case basketball didn’t
work out for me” Morabbi added. In his fourth and final year,
during a pre-game shootout, a Japanese basketball agent approached
Morabbi imploring him to play professionally in Japan. Morabbi did
not think much of this, thinking that the guy was lying to him. In
his last four games as a collegiate basketball player, the agent further
persisted. “I was still a bit hesitant about the whole idea
of leaving the country,” Morabbi explained. After graduating
with honors in 2003, Morabbi was invited to play in an Asian summer
basketball tournament in downtown Los Angeles. It was there that one
of the coaches approached him with the idea of him going to Japan.
Having a Japanese basketball coach tell Morabbi to consider playing
basketball in Japan finally made him realize that he should give it
a try. By this point, however, there were many agents wanting Morabbi
as their client, he decided ultimately to sign with the agent who
had approached him during his final games at Whittier. “I ended
up leaving that summer to play in my rookie year,” he enthusiastically
recalled.
Abe Morabbi is known by his friends and family
by his birth name. His teammates in Japan, however, know him as Ken
Tanaka. The best Persian basketball player in the world knows that
Japanese professional leagues stipulate that every team must have
a certain number of players with Japanese last names on their squad.
Abe Morrabi’s mother’s last name is Tanaka, his nickname
is Ken.
The best Persian basketball player in the world
speaks Japanese, and this made the transition of living in Japan easier
for him. “I would have friends visit me from the [United] States
and they would have such a difficult time being there because they
didn’t speak Japanese,” Morabbi added with a laugh. He
ended up playing his rookie year for the Panasonic Super Kangaroos
in the city of Osaka. He was able to travel all of Japan with his
team, have his own free condo and make a nice six-figure salary. Life
was good for Morabbi, who appreciates everything that he has achieved.
He is now a free agent and is looking for a better team to play for.
He plans on eventually coming back to the United States to play for
the NBA, but due to NBA rules and regulations, Morabbi cannot enter
the draft at the moment because of his age. For now, he makes frequent
visits to the U.S. to see his family and friends because, as he quipped,
“Without your family and friends, you have nothing.”
Read more on Abe Morrabi in the October 2005 issue.
-Ehsan Sarabi
