Andre Iguodala’s 19-year NBA career is officially coming to an end.
The former Warriors forward and four-time champion explained Andscape Mark Spears The reason behind his decision to retire from playing.
“It’s the right time,” Iguodala told Spears in a phone interview. “Time was starting to get limited for me and I didn’t want to put anything on the back seat. I didn’t want to try to delegate time anymore. Especially on the field, off the field with the family. A lot.
“You want to play at a high level. But there is a lot of family. My son is 16 and has two girls. So, [I’m] “I look forward to watching them grow into those important years.”
The 39-year-old spent the first eight seasons of his career with the team 76ers After Philadelphia selected him with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. He then spent one season in Denver with the Nuggets before moving to the Bay Area and joining the Warriors.
Iguodala was part of a Warriors dynasty that made five straight trips to the NBA Finals, winning three of them. He spent two seasons (2019-20, 2020-21) with Miami Heat Before returning to Golden State, where he spent the last two seasons of his career and won another championship.
“We won four championships, which is unheard of,” Iguodala told the Spurs. “There are only a few teams that can say that. I got it [Chicago] bulls, [Los Angeles] lakers, [Boston] Celtics, us, and that’s it. No organization has ever been run this way. I think it’s a testament to our belief in each other and playing the right way. The game was played beautifully and was perfectly timed for me in my prime.
“And things happen the way they were supposed to happen when they happened, and that strengthens your belief. All you have to do is leave it to someone else to say, ‘Let me play to the best of my ability based on the work I’ve put in and the focus I’ve put into the game has paid off.’ “
The Warriors released a statement from owner Joe Lacob regarding Iguodala’s retirement.
“Andre Iguodala was a huge part of four NBA championship teams with the Warriors and will forever be remembered for his many contributions to our franchise, both on and off the court. His team-first approach, which we saw immediately upon his arrival in Golden State, helped define The tone of much of our success, as did the impact he had on the defensive end of the field.
“We look forward to raising No. 9 to the rafters at Chase Center at some point in the future, and wish him well in what will surely be a very successful career venture after playing in the business world.”
Iguodala averaged 11.3 points on 46.3 percent shooting over nearly two decades, with 4.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Perhaps his most memorable run on the court came in the 2015 NBA Finals when he received the Finals MVP award for doing the impossible and shutting down former Cleveland Cavalier and NBA superstar LeBron James.
In addition to his outstanding defense, Iguodala has been effective on the other end of the court as well. He averaged 16.3 points on 52.1 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range, adding 5.8 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.3 steals per game. In that Final 6, Iguodala dropped 25 points on 45 percent shooting, with five rebounds, five assists and two steals in 36 minutes.
“That was great,” Iguodala told Spurs. “It was funny. [Then-Warriors general manager] It was Bob Myers who gave me the news. That was one of those moments you’ll never forget. I remember every moment it happened. But it’s always safe to say that if you go out and do your job and what you’re supposed to do, things will happen the way they’re supposed to happen. You just have to have faith that things will work out positively as long as you have that faith.
“You see a lot in sports like guys going out there, making sure they get what they want, and that sometimes gets in the way of a team’s success. It always does.”
In his final two seasons with the Warriors, specifically last season, Iguodala served as an unofficial assistant coach and served as a mentor to younger players, such as Jonathan Kuminga and Musa Modi.
Both on and off the field, Iguodala’s impact was felt and will certainly be missed.
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