Chris Paul and Andre Iguodala of the Miami Heat have engaged in a number of battles over the years, but the two have developed quite a personal affinity for one another.
Through their mutual interest in leading the NBA players association, the duo has emerged as some of the league’s more respected and outspoken player-leaders, and according to Paul, the league’s players may have never gotten on the same page had it not been for Iguodala, who is considered a sage among his peers.
That opinion is especially noteworthy considering the fact that Iguodala has emerged as an integral member of the Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat, which will enter Game 2 of the 2020 NBA Finals trailing the Los Angeles Lakers, 1-0.
According to Paul, the league’s players owe Iguodala a debt gratitude. It seems like so long ago that the union was plagued by rumors of infighting and discord. Many of the league’s players weren’t in favor of taking their talents to the bubble and competing, but eventually, everyone got on the same page.
For the most part, Paul, who is the President of the NBPA, has received the credit, but being the fine point guard he is, he dished a bit.
Paul appeared on Seattle Seahawks All-Pro quarterback Russell Wilson’s DangerTalk podcast. Released on Wednesday, Paul’s appearance was wide-ranging. The “point god” discusses his support for historically black colleges and universities in the United States and even made a prediction for the NBA Finals.
He also, obviously, went pretty in-depth on the making of the NBA’s bubble and life within it. According to Paul, at the 30:00 mark, Iguodala deserves tons of credit for helping to keep the league’s players unified and on the same page with respect to their willingness to compete.
Anybody that’s on these exeuctive committees or whatnot, it’s not a paid position, right? So it’s service, you know what I mean? It’s service, and that’s why I commend all the guys in our league that’s on our executive committee. Through all of this stuff, our executive committee was amazing, but the guy who none of this stuff would’ve happened without is Andre Iguodala.
Paul then went on to explain that the very fact that the league has over 400 members in its players union obviously meant that it would be difficult to find one voice and one position. All things considered, though, they managed to — both in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd and the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Me and [Andre Iguodala] been on the executive committee for years, and the amount of conversations me and him had to have in trying to manage all the different players — cus you think about it, it’s 450 players, so what may be good for this guy might not be good for this guy. So what you have to do is have very tough conversations and hard conversations…
When everything happened back in March and we stopped playing, it was because of Covid. And now, we’re having these calls with the league and trying to figure out how we can resume playing because of Covid and then boom, George Floyd happens and it’s not just Covid anymore, it’s Covid, it’s social injustice, and so now you’re battling, “Should we play?”… Not “Can we play?” but “Should we play?”
Iguodala, obviously, helped the players find their way and arrive at the conclusion that they should.
As has been well documented, thanks to the Milwaukee Bucks’ refusal to take the floor in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake, some of the league’s players advocated calling off the remainder of the season.
More than we know, as he competes for his second championship, the MVP of the 2015 NBA Finals played a critical role in helping to avoid that fate.