It wasn’t too long ago that the NBA’s Golden State Warriors were the talk of the basketball world. Over the five seasons commencing with the 2014-15 campaign, the Warriors won 79 percent of their regular-season games, 75 percent of their postseason games, reached the NBA Finals all five years, and won the NBA championship three times. In one of the two seasons where they did not win the title, they won 73 of 82 regular-season games and had a 3-to-1 series lead in the finals against Cleveland before losing the last three games. They played at a pace enjoyable to most NBA fans. They scored lots of points, hit lots of three-pointers, and could clamp down on defense when needed. Their fan base became global, and jersey sales went through the roof. But over the last two seasons, injuries and defections involving their four most recognizable players from that five-year run have brought the Warriors back to the pack, and fans are now even finding fault with the coach. But one of the more overlooked elements of that period of dominance is the influence of veteran swingman Andre Iguodala. He was enough of a factor that if I’m a General Manager looking to add a missing piece to my championship-contending roster, I’m calling around the league and asking, “Brother, can you spare an Iguodala?”
THEY’LL CALL YOU BORING IF YOU’RE NOT SCORING
Andre Iguodala arrived from the University of Arizona as the 9th pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. In retrospect, the timing could not have been worse, as he came along towards the end of the successful tenure of Allen Iverson, a popular figure with the demanding Philadelphia fan base and one of the best scorers in league history. Iguodala played and started right away alongside Iverson during the 2004-2005 season; just a few years prior, Iverson carried the Sixers to an Eastern Conference crown. Two sub-.500 seasons later, Iverson was moved to the Denver Nuggets, leaving Iguodala as the franchise’s new focal point. In Philadelphia.
No pressure or anything.
Unfortunately, a versatile player like Iguodala will always be undervalued because scoring isn’t his primary strength. He can score, but he’s not the first scoring option on a good team because he doesn’t always look to score, and shooting isn’t the strongest part of his game. He’s a ball mover, a defensive stalwart, a team player. So in eight seasons with Philadelphia, Iguodala played in 615 games, started in all of them, averaged 15 points, 6 rebounds, five assists, and nearly two steals per contest. In today’s NBA, nothing will earn you the title of “role player” quicker than a scoring average below 20 points per game as a full-time starter playing well over 30 minutes per game. Folks enjoy buckets, but there’s nothing wrong with being a role player in a league none of us can play in, and Iguodala showed us that during his six seasons with the Golden State Warriors.
IGUODALAS ARE DIFFICULT TO FIND
Calling around asking for a player like Andre Iguodala — now 37 years old and nearing the end of his NBA career — is a lot easier than landing one. Finding a player that exhibits ALL FIVE characteristics listed below might be more challenging than finding that elusive twenty-point-per-game scorer.
1. IN HIS PRIME, HE COULD START FOR ANY TEAM
His so-called pedestrian shooting percentages and scoring averages notwithstanding, Iguodala could start for any team in the NBA in his prime years. In fact, at the advanced basketball age of 37, he could bolster the starting unit of a few teams right now given the opportunity.
2. STILL IN HIS PRIME YEARS, HE WILLINGLY CAME OFF THE BENCH
Even on a stacked team like the Golden State Warriors during their five-year run, many players not as complete as Iguodala would have bristled at the idea of coming off the bench for them. Maybe he did as well, having been a full-time starter in his first season with the Warriors, but based on his performances, he embraced the role.
3. HE MAKE SACRIFICES ON BOTH ENDS OF THE FLOOR
After his eight seasons with Philadelphia, Iguodala was moved to the Denver Nuggets and played one season there before heading to Golden State via a sign-and-trade deal before the 2013-14 season. Even during his one season with Denver, Iguodala led the team in minutes played yet averaged only 11 field goal attempts per game on a team without a dominant scorer. The leading scorers were Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari at 16 points per game each. That squad won 57 games, and Iguodala’s willingness to move the ball on offense and slow down the opponent’s top perimeter scorers and anchor the team defense played a large part.
4. MORE VERSATILE THAN A “THREE-AND-D” GUY
The Golden State Warriors knew they were on the verge of something special. They also understood the game was moving farther away from the basket, and the ability and the will to defend in space without help was going to be important. Bringing in guys like Iguodala and Shaun Livingston were championship moves that allowed the more gifted scorers to leave the grunt work to others. Those scorers also knew Iguodala would get them the ball when open and wouldn’t force things if he didn’t get to shoot after several trips up the floor. And the maximum effort was a given.
5. CLUTCH POST-SEASON PERFORMER
It may be a long time before we see another player win the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award while working with three All-Stars, not starting a game in the regular season or playoffs, and averaging ten points per game in the regular season. But that’s what Andre Iguodala did during the 2014-15 NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He did all the right things off the bench to earn late-game minutes, converted on numerous clutch shots, and made Lebron James work harder than anyone else on the roster to create offense. That performance is what the Golden State Warriors envisioned when they added Iguodala to their roster, and the role Iguodala envisioned when he joined their roster.
WHO IS THE NEXT ANDRE IGUODALA?
No one practices Andre Iguodala moves on their local basketball court. But NBA players and coaches know his worth, and they also know there aren’t many players like him. Now in his 17th NBA season, he could do absolutely nothing for his current team, the Miami Heat, during the 2021 NBA playoffs and still have carved out a successful career likely to be appreciated more after he retires. We can all think of players that fit three of the above categories; four is rare. A player who fits all five categories will command respect (and a contract) that far exceeds what his scoring average suggests. And he’d be worth every penny, especially to a title contender. We haven’t identified the next one yet, but many teams will covet anyone who has those qualities well into his thirties.
IS ANDRE IGUODALA A HALL OF FAMER?
If you want to start an argument with one of your sports-minded buddies, ask the question: “Is Andre Iguodala a Hall of Famer?” Many will dismiss his candidacy based on his career scoring average of around 12 points per game. Others will look at the Philadelphia 76ers win-loss record, which hovers around .500 while he was a key player there. But this is a guy who averaged under ten points per game as a collegian, was still selected as a lottery pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, and is still running 17 years later. He’s a three-time NBA champion and an NBA Finals MVP. He was also a member of the 2012 NBA All-Star Team and won Olympic Gold that same year. He’s twice been named to the NBA’s All-Defensive Team.
It’s still difficult to tell what the criteria are to qualify as a Basketball Hall of Famer, but Andre Iguodala, at the very least, deserves consideration. As someone who appreciates player versatility, I’d vote for him if I had one. In any event, The Miami Heat added him to their roster late last season with an eye on the 2020 NBA Playoffs and he contributed to a trip to the Finals, the sixth in a row for him. Iguodala still has something left, so we’ll see how much impact he has on the 2021 postseason.
In the meantime, future Iguodalas should be getting their applications ready to become the next coveted multi-faceted player with the ability to start but doesn’t need to start, doesn’t need the ball, can lock down opponents on defense, facilitate on offense, and hit clutch shots in crucial games.
The NBA is waiting.
