Andre Iguodala
Andre Tyler Iguodala is an American former professional basketball player who played for 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association. A swingman, he was an NBA All-Star in 2012 and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Team twice. Iguodala won four NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors and was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 2015. He was also a member of the U.S. national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and 2012 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal both times.
Iguodala played college basketball with the Arizona Wildcats. After earning first-team all-conference honors in the Pac-10 as a sophomore in 2004, he was selected in the 2004 NBA draft with the ninth overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers. Iguodala played for Philadelphia until the summer of 2012 when he joined the Denver Nuggets in a four-team trade. He was acquired by Golden State in 2013. In 2014–15, Iguodala became a reserve for the first time in his career, but played a major role. He captured the Finals MVP after returning to the starting lineup in the middle of the championship series. After three championships and five trips to the Finals with the Warriors, Iguodala had a two-year stint with the Miami Heat, with whom he reached his sixth straight Finals in 2020. Iguodala returned to Golden State in 2021 and won his fourth NBA championship that season. He spent another season with the Warriors before retiring from playing in 2023.
From February 2019 to February 2023, Iguodala served as vice-president of the National Basketball Players Association. On November 9, 2023, the NBPA executive committee appointed him as acting executive director.
Early life
Iguodala was born in Springfield, Illinois, the son of Linda Shanklin. His older brother, Frank, played for Lake Land College in Mattoon, Illinois, and Dayton. His mother is African American and his father is Nigerian. Growing up, Iguodala was a Chicago Bulls fan, and cites Michael Jordan as the player he looked up to the most.Iguodala attended Lanphier High School in Springfield, Illinois, which had produced such notable athletes as baseball Hall of Famer Robin Roberts and NBA guard Kevin Gamble. Iguodala did well there both academically and athletically, winning All-Conference academic honors, making the National Honor Roll, being named State Journal-Register Student-Athlete of the Week several times, and earning three letters in track for the high jump. As a senior in 2002, Iguodala led Lanphier's basketball team to a runner-up finish at the Illinois High School Association Class AA state tournament. That season, he averaged 23.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Iguodala was named Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year as well as a second-team Parade All-American and Nike All-American. He was also a finalist for the Illinois Mr. Basketball award, which was won by Dee Brown. Iguodala's Lanphier jersey is now retired.
During the summer of 2000, Iguodala captured the attention of coaches around the nation by hitting a game-winning buzzer-beater to give his team the 17-and-under AAU national title and being named the tournament MVP. In 2002, Iguodala played in the Jordan Brand Classic in Washington, D.C. In 22 minutes of play, he put up six points on 3–6 shooting, five rebounds, two assists, three steals, and a block. Iguodala played AAU basketball under Larry Butler and the Illinois Warriors, the team that has featured other professional players such as Dwyane Wade and Quentin Richardson, and Duke head coach Jon Scheyer.
Considered a four-star recruit by Scout.com, Iguodala was listed as the No. 6 small forward and the No. 26 player in the nation in 2002.
College career
Iguodala initially signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Arkansas. He had narrowed down his list of desired schools to two: Kansas or Arkansas. Iguodala was enticed by Arkansas's 1–3 system, which would have allowed Iguodala to run the point occasionally. Iguodala visited the Arkansas campus and was impressed by their large gymnasium and the number of fans at a practice while there with his mother and father. After their coach, Nolan Richardson, was fired that year, Iguodala decided to attend Arizona instead. At Arizona, he joined future NBA players Channing Frye, Luke Walton, Mustafa Shakur, Salim Stoudamire and Hassan Adams. One of the determining factors for Iguodala was the commitment of Hassan Adams, whom Iguodala had played with in the Jordan Brand Classic in high school. Many colleges regarded Iguodala as a track star turned basketball player, but teammate Luke Walton said, "He is going to be one of the best players to ever come out of Arizona by the time he is done here." Iguodala was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshmen team for 2002–03. In his freshman year, Iguodala quickly established himself as one of the best all-around players on the team, ranking in the top 5 for his team in just about every major category.As a sophomore in 2003–04, Iguodala was named team MVP after leading his team in rebounds, assists and steals. He also made the All-Pac-10 First Team and was named Honorable Mention All-America by The Associated Press. Iguodala collected three triple-doubles that season, joining Jason Kidd as the only two players in Pac-10 history to post two or more triple-doubles in a season. During his career at Arizona, the Wildcats made it to the NCAA Tournament both seasons. In his freshman year, the Wildcats were defeated in the Elite Eight by Kansas. In his sophomore year, Arizona was defeated in the first round by Seton Hall. After posting career totals of 594 points, 409 rebounds and 95 steals in 62 games, Iguodala left to enter the NBA draft. At Arizona, Iguodala planned to major in education. After the season, he signed with agent Rob Pelinka, co-founder of the Landmark Sports Agency, who had represented NBA All-Stars such as Kobe Bryant, Carlos Boozer, and Gerald Wallace.
Professional career
Philadelphia 76ers (2004–2012)
2004–05 season: Rookie season
Iguodala was selected 9th overall in the 2004 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. When Iguodala was selected, ESPN personality Dick Vitale commented that it was a mistake for the Sixers to take him, saying: "Iguodala was a shooter from the college three-point line. He's not going to be able to play." Iguodala used this as motivation in what proved to be a very productive rookie season. He was thrust into the starting lineup immediately and was the only 76er to play and start all 82 regular-season games plus five playoff games, becoming a favorite target of Allen Iverson in the process, often connecting on highlight-reel dunks on passes or alley-oops from Iverson. Iguodala proved his versatility, as Iguodala was the only rookie and 76er to record a triple-double that season, doing it against the defending champion Detroit Pistons. In that game, he scored 10 points, caught 10 rebounds and dished out 10 assists. During the season, Iguodala averaged 9.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.7 steals, and 32.8 minutes per game. His efforts were rewarded when he was named to the All-Rookie First Team and started on the rookie team during the Rookie Challenge portion of All-Star Weekend. Iguodala finished fourth in voting for NBA Rookie of the Year.Image:Andre dunks.jpg|thumb|left|Iguodala competed in the 2006 Slam Dunk Contest.
2005–06 season: Sophomore season
Already a fixture in the 76ers' starting rotation, Iguodala was the only Sixer to play in and start all 82 games in his second season. On February 17, 2006, at the Rookie Challenge, Iguodala won MVP honors for his 30-point performance in the Sophomores win. The next day, he participated in the Slam Dunk Contest. Iguodala's first dunk was a simple windmill. Next, he received a pass from Allen Iverson off the back side of the backboard, leapt beneath the board, and reverse dunked on the other side, earning a perfect score of 50 points. In the final round, Iguodala did a behind-the-back dunk and followed with a reverse. However, in a controversial decision, the award was given to Nate Robinson. Iguodala averaged 12.3 points and 5.9 rebounds on the season.2006–07 season: Leadership role
After Allen Iverson was traded to the Denver Nuggets and Chris Webber was released, Iguodala emerged as a team leader on the 76ers. At the time of Webber's release, the 76ers were 9–26. Averaging 40.3 minutes per game during a late-season run, he paced the team to a 26–21 finish, just shy of the #8-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, albeit a record padded by other teams "tanking" to secure a higher draft pick. Iguodala went on to finish the season with averages of 18.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.7 assists, combined tallies matched or bettered only by LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Tracy McGrady.2007–08 season: Career high in scoring
Iguodala got off to a slow start to the season, even to a point where he was leading the league in turnovers. Iguodala began to step up his game as the season went on, leading Philadelphia to a playoff berth. The 76ers finished the season at 40–42, winning 22 of their last 29 games and earning a playoff spot with a victory over the Atlanta Hawks on April 4. Iguodala averaged a career-high 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game through the 82 games. Philadelphia was set to face the No. 2 seed Detroit. In the playoffs, the 76ers lost in the first round to the Pistons in six games despite a 2–1 lead. Iguodala had a poor postseason series, averaging 13 points per game.2008–09 season: Leading the NBA in minutes
On August 17, 2008, Iguodala signed a six-year, $80 million contract extension with the 76ers. The contract had $5 million in bonuses and a player option for the sixth year.Early on in the year, Iguodala was on a Sixers team with high expectations after signing All-Star forward Elton Brand and seeing the success of forward Thaddeus Young, whom they drafted with their lottery pick the prior year. Iguodala developed into more of a primary player in the 2008–09 season, becoming more active as a facilitator on the offensive end of the floor. Early into the season, Philadelphia was struggling, which led to the departure of head coach Maurice Cheeks. The 76ers played much better basketball under interim head coach Tony DiLeo. In his last year with co-captain and veteran point guard Andre Miller, Iguodala helped lead the 76ers to another playoff berth, finishing the season with a 41–41 season record and as the #6-seed in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs the 76ers were set to face the third seed Orlando Magic. In Game 1, Orlando had an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter, but Philadelphia made an amazing comeback led by Iguodala, eventually scoring a step-back, fadeaway jumper in the face of Hedo Türkoğlu with 2.2 seconds remaining to give the 76ers the win. The 76ers eventually lost to the Magic in six games, failing to reach the second round. Iguodala had averaged 18.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game through 82 regular-season games.