Andre Iguodala — whose career started as a scoring wing in Philadelphia and ended with him as the defensive stopper and elder statesman of the Golden State Warriors — has announced he is officially retiring after 19 NBA seasons.
The move was not a surprise, although the Warriors would have brought Iguodala back if he wished. Iguodala told Marc Spears of Andscape that it was time.
“It’s just the right time. Time started to get limited for me and I didn’t want to put anything in the back seat. I didn’t want to have to try to delegate time anymore. Especially with on the court, off the court with family. A lot. You want to play at a high level. But then family is a lot. My son is 16 and then two girls. So, [I’m] looking forward to seeing them grow up in those important years.”
The Philadelphia 76ers drafted Iguodala No. 9 out of Arizona in 2004 and for his eight years with the Sixers he was a scoring wing who averaged 19.9 points per game in 2008. The 76ers traded him to the Nuggets, where he played one season before being traded to the on-the-rise Golden State Warriors in 2013. With the Warriors he became a vital part of the Stephen Curry era as the team’s most physical perimeter defender who could also create shots and knock down jumpers as well.
Within two years the Warriors won the first of their four titles with Iguodala, and in 2015 he was named Finals MVP, largely for his defense of LeBron James in that series (he also averaged 16.3 points a game in that series). Iguodala would be a part of every Warriors title in the Curry era.
The last couple of years he has battled injuries and played just eight games last season, although Golden State highly valued his presence on the bench and in the locker room.
It’s an impressive NBA career for one of the most impressive people in the league during his era.
