On October 20, Andre Iguodala announced his retirement. Iguodala helped the Golden State Warriors win four NBA championships. He spent eight years with the Golden State, between 2013 and 2019 and 2021 and 2023. Iguodala was the perfect three-and-d wing alongside the All-Star core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.
Steve Kerr has shared his thoughts on Iguodala’s career, specifically his time with the Warriors. Golden State’s head coach credited the retiring forward as “one of the main reasons” for his team’s four championship banners. Kerr also praised Iguodala for sacrificing for the team’s good by accepting a bench role.
“He’s one of the main reasons we’ve got those four banners hanging up,” Kerr said ahead of his team’s preseason loss to the San Antonio Spurs. “He was a foundational piece of what has been one of the great runs in NBA history. In many ways, Andre set the tone for the whole thing by agreeing to come off the bench in 2014-15, really sacrificing and making the move that unlocked the team…It allowed Harrison (Barnes) to thrive, strengthened our bench, but also set a tone for unselfishness and a team-first mentality. That was ultimately rewarded with a title and Finals MVP for Andre when we put him back in the starting lineup.”
Iguodala will likely turn more of his focus toward his “Point Forward” podcast with Evan Turner. We may also see Iguodala make the occasional media appearance. The four-time NBA champion had an incredible 19-year career in the NBA and will undoubtedly be successful at whatever is next for him.
"He's one of the main reasons we've got those four banners hanging up."
Before tonight's game, Steve Kerr commented on Andre Iguodala's retirement. pic.twitter.com/L3kSVVS270
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) October 21, 2023
If the Warriors win the 2024 NBA championship, it will be the first time in the Curry era that Iguodala wasn’t part of the rotation. That’s how important his contributions were.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1434 tag=1365]