- [Narrator] Andre Iguodala will go down
as the ultimate glue guy,
the critical other player
behind the core of the Golden State Warriors dynasty.
These brilliant Warriors won four titles in eight years.
Four players participated in all four championship seasons.
Steph, Klay, Draymond, three world famous stars
and Andre Iguodala.
Rarely a starter, never an All-Star
or even a double-digit scorer
while playing in Golden State,
Iguodala is nonetheless that fourth constant
among the Warriors' title winning rosters
and it makes sense.
Iguodala provided the kind of versatile utility
contributions you'll find on any great team.
He's hardworking, team first, eager to pass and defend
and make the right play, a mentor and confidant
for his teammates, athletic and creative and capable,
but never demanding the spotlight.
Iguodala was all of that, the quintessential glue guy,
and part of that legacy is this:
Iguodala owns an unusual trophy for a player in his role.
With defense on LeBron James and some surprise offense,
Andre Iguodala, not any of these guys
and not LeBron, was named Finals MVP
when these Warriors won their first title in 2015.
The other guy got the big individual prize.
Some found that honor absurd at the time
and some people still do, but in its peculiarity,
that 2015 award serves as a nice representation
of Iguodala's unique career.
This is what Andre Iguodala always wanted to be
and what he eventually chose to be,
but it wasn't always what people saw in him
or expected of him.
Andre Iguodala cycled through multiple versions of himself
before he secured his legacy as the ultimate glue guy.
Let's meet those prior versions in the Prism.
Andre Iguodala was an unusual kind of prospect.
Jonathan Abrams' 2013 Grantland profile of Iguodala
offers terrific insight into a young Andre's thinking.
Iguodala grew up in Illinois watching
the Chicago Bulls dynasty and gravitated to Scottie Pippen,
one of the greatest players ever to occupy
a nonfeatured role in his team's offense.
As long as Michael Jordan was around,
Scottie knew he wouldn't lead the Bulls in scoring,
salary, or acclaim, but he remained instrumental
by influencing them in subtler ways.
Young Andre, perhaps more than Scottie himself,
appreciated that overshadowed excellence,
and while so many future NBA players distinguished
themselves by bogarting at the amateur level,
Iguodala kept finding himself in Pippen-like situations.
In high school, Iguodala happened to play
alongside local standout Richard McBride.
McBride got the ball and the attention
so Iguodala was pushed to focus
on his point guard skills and his defense, supporting stuff.
After decommitting from the University of Arkansas,
Iguodala chose to join a college program
in which he would definitely not be featured.
The early 2000s Arizona Wildcats were stacked
with NBA prospects who commanded minutes and touches.
Iguodala didn't start as a freshman,
he played behind a senior, Luke Walton,
who had himself embraced a kind of tertiary role
among that succession of big time scorers.
Iguodala learned from and emulated Walton.
Even once Luke graduated and Iguodala inherited big minutes,
the sophomore still ate up way fewer possessions
than multiple teammates.
He was the full-time other guy, facilitating success
with smart passes and persistent defense,
stuff that makes a difference without making headlines.
Often, players in this role are advised to stay in school,
hang around until you get to be the guy,
elevate your so-called stock to convince teams
in the NBA draft lottery that you could become their star.
This was exactly what ESPN's Dick Vitale said
Iguodala should do, but he did not.
Iguodala declared for the 2004 draft
and it paid off in multiple ways.
Andre went in the lottery, but he didn't end up
on one of the dreadful tanked out teams
that might have simply handed him the ball and said,
"Here, take over."
The Philadelphia 76ers picked Iguodala ninth.
They were coming off a messy, losing season,
but they already had their guy,
Alan Iverson, one of the greatest
and most ball dominant bucket getters ever.
They surrounded Iverson with veterans and off-ball scorers
who took the onus off the young Iguodala.
Andre entered Philly's starting lineup immediately,
but served a supporting role. Just like in high school,
just like in college, he got to be the glue guy.
As seasons passed and the Sixers churned,
Iguodala assumed more scoring responsibility,
but always less than Iverson.
Sliding across the other guy spectrum
from that sort of fifth option Luke Walton role
to attempting something of a Pippen impression.
Iguodala was a happy and productive sidekick,
and then the Sixers traded Iverson,
the abrupt end of an era.
It had been a turbulent couple years in Philly
and the Sixers suddenly decided to rebuild around a guy
who had never envisioned himself as a centerpiece.
Could Andre Iguodala be the new Alan Iverson?
He had the right initials, which wasn't exactly a blessing.
The original AI wasn't just any star on just any team,
he was uniquely charismatic, magnetic in his ability
to dominate as a little guy.
He almost single-handedly shot
the Sixers into the 2001 Finals.
In a city stereotyped as intensely demanding of its stars,
Iverson earned eternal respect.
Now, he was gone and the guy replacing him was
an introspective youngster who liked to pass and defend.
Iverson wondered if Iguodala could become the guy
in his wake, answering his own question with,
"He doesn't have a choice."
In that same ESPN piece, Iguodala fantasized about playing
beside a star, but he did have a template to follow.
Pippen, after all, had shouldered the load
during Jordan's retirement
and that for a period of time was Iguodala.
He led the Sixers not with pure volume scoring,
but with a maxed out version of his own versatile game.
His new stats put him on level
with some true do-it-all-stars
and it wasn't a total surprise.
Unlike some others, Iguodala didn't cultivate
a team-oriented cerebral reputation simply
because he lacked elsewhere.
Even when Iguodala didn't approach the game like a star,
he'd always been built like one.
6'6, long-armed, fleet-footed
with dunk contest caliber hops.
In his first full season post Iverson,
the 24 year old Iguodala put that athleticism to work,
averaging a hair under 20 points,
something he had never come close to doing in college.
Iguodala led Philly into the 2008 post season
where he learned what it's like
at the top of a playoff scouting report.
It's not easy being the guy
when Detroit's Tayshaun Prince is assigned
to guard the guy for a whole series,
and that foreshadowed life as an A1 star in Philadelphia.
A big 2008 extension affirmed Iguodala's status
as the face of the Sixers,
but that was not a pleasant office to occupy.
While the other Philly teams thrived,
the Sixers stagnated and then took a nose dive.
Coach Maurice Cheeks got fired.
Coach Eddie Jordan tried to institute a whole new system
then got fired after just one season.
Iguodala worked hard, never missed a game
and filled a whole line in the box score,
but he didn't take over games the way Iverson had.
He couldn't or wouldn't put his head down
and shoot his ever-changing team to success.
Andre wore the blame for Philly's 27 win finish in 2010.
He felt at odds with fans and media alike,
he heard boos and got accosted on the street.
He saw ESPN label him
the most hated athlete in Philadelphia.
As if to underscore that Iguodala wasn't the guy,
Philly signed the real AI
for a brief ineffectual second stint.
At the end of that 2010 season,
rumors swirled that Iguodala wanted out.
It's easy to understand why this kind of guy would choose
a situation more like this one.
Iguodala didn't get to choose immediately,
but fate started to swing his way.
Whether or not Iguodala wanted the Sixers
to trade him in 2010, they didn't.
They hired a new coach, Doug Collins,
notably someone who played in Philadelphia
alongside bigger stars like Julius Erving.
Collins later became Scottie Pippen's first NBA coach.
While Philly media wondered
if Iguodala could become their star,
Collins tried to redefine that word.
Iguodala didn't have to earn his salary by hogging the ball,
and indeed under Collins,
Iguodala's stats took a rare turn for a player in his prime.
His usage and scoring dropped.
He passed some offensive burden to his teammates.
Elton Brand led the team in points.
Youngsters like Jrue Holiday
and Lou Williams dialed up their scoring too.
Despite a nagging Achilles injury,
Iguodala made his first ever all defense team in 2011,
the Sixers returned to the playoffs.
2012 was even better and even more unusual.
Iguodala took even fewer shots and how about that,
got named to his first All-Star team at age 28,
and Collins' Sixers played Iguodala Ball.
They registered the league's third best defensive rating
and ran their offense basically without a first option.
And the Sixers won, 35 out of 66 games then a playoff series
against the shorthanded Bulls, clinched by Andre.
Iguodala had become a glue guy star
on a team that built victories mostly out of glue
with some very promising young talent,
but that promise went unfulfilled.
Within a monumental offseason trade,
the Sixers sent Iguodala to Denver.
For Philly, this was a seismic move, destructive enough
to kickstart The Process, but that's not our problem.
For Iguodala, arriving in Denver was kind of perfect.
The Nuggets were already good,
kind of a juiced-up offense first version
of that equal opportunity Sixers ecosystem.
George Karl's squad already had a pecking order,
already had scorers.
Iguodala could once again slide into a versatile,
supportive role on a winning team and again,
all we can do is wonder how Iguodala might have evolved
with the Nuggets.
At the end of the 2013 season,
Andre finally got to choose his workplace
and he had just received an up close look
at exactly what he wanted.
2013: unrestricted free agency.
Iguodala knew he didn't wanna be a leading scorer.
That audition was behind him.
He wanted to be an elite other guy and he wanted to be that
for the team that just defeated him.
Iguodala's 2013 Nuggets had fallen in the first round
against an unfamiliar playoff foe.
The upstart Golden State Warriors defeated Denver
in six games, but they weren't great yet.
Their core of homegrown talent was just beginning
to take form.
The Splash Brothers weren't All-Stars yet.
25 year old Steph Curry was still proving his durability
and averaging over 20 a night for the first time.
Klay Thompson was beginning to show
he could maintain pristine shooting numbers at volume.
Draymond Green spent most of his rookie season riding
Coach Mark Jackson's bench,
but in defending those guys and losing,
Iguodala saw their potential,
he fell in love with the opponent.
I still will not entertain George Karl's accusation
that Iguodala was a mole for the Warriors.
Golden State was appealing, rising talent,
and for a guy interested in investing,
they had proximity to Silicon Valley.
Problem was, the Warriors didn't have the money
under the salary cap to make Iguodala a fair offer.
Even GM Bob Myers suggested Iguodala go elsewhere.
The Nuggets offer Iguodala 60 mil to stay,
the Kings made a big offer.
Dallas was ready to swoop in
until the Warriors swiftly cleared space.
Their offer still undershot those of rivals,
but Iguodala took it.
He knew what he wanted and he very soon proved
by this was the perfect match.
Andre kept coming back too.
Despite all the success,
Iguodala's Warrior career wasn't so straightforward.
The season Golden State won their first title,
Iguodala came off the bench for new coach Steve Kerr,
first time in his career.
In the 2017 offseason, Iguodala hit free agency again.
Golden State tried to low ball
their already underpaid Finals MVP,
not to mention the VP of the Players Union.
Iguodala forced their hand though
and then help them win a third title.
Iguodala actually did a stint elsewhere
and then returned to make it four rings in 2022,
just a perfect conclusion
to the self-authored chapter of Andre's story.
I really believe that when a teenaged Andre Iguodala
envisioned his ideal NBA future,
it looked something like this, that's rare.
He wasn't quite Scottie Pippen,
but he also wasn't trying to be MJ or AI for that matter,
at least not when he got to decide.
Andre became his own version
of the elite, overqualified glue guy.
Iguodala's vision for himself didn't always match
that of those observing him or even employing him.
He often defied conventional wisdom and common sense,
but when he got to choose, Andre followed his instincts
and he's got a whole arm-full of trophies
to make those instincts look pretty sharp.
(transition swooshes) (electric outro music)