Paper Guilo City | Goodbye, Curry: I'll always be your sword-wielding bodyguard, Andre Iguodala
"Just when time started to get finite, I didn't want to put everything else on the back burner. I don't want to allocate my time anymore, both on and off the court, and family, there are a lot of things. You want to keep it at a high level, but family is just as important. My son is 16 years old and has two daughters. So, I look forward to seeing them grow in these important glory years. ”
Iguodala is retired!
Born on January 28, 1984 in Springfield, Illinois, USA, he grew up here and attended Lanfil High School, where he began his basketball career. At the time, he always practiced with his older brother, Frank, who was 16 months older than him. In addition to basketball, the brothers practiced baseball, swimming, and even karate together. When not in basketball, Iguodala can also practice athletics, and his best jump is 2.10 meters. In addition to the high jump, Iguodala also practiced the long jump. As a sophomore in high school, Iguodala was second in the long jump from Illinois.
In 2002, Iguodala averaged 23.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists in the AA High School League of the Illinois High Schools Association, and led the team to runner-up finishes and was named Player of the Year by the Chicago Sun-Times and National High School Student of the Year. This shows how strong the first brother was in high school. In the same year, a brother participated in the Jordan Brand Classic in Washington, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 block filled the data column, at this time he has been seen by many universities, and even the president and coach personally visited the door to invite to join.
Kansas or Arkansas chooses one, and one brother is attracted to Arkansas' basketball system. When Brother Yi was invited to visit the campus, he was deeply impressed by the campus. But after the head coach of the team ceased to coach, Yi Ge chose to transfer to the University of Arizona, because of the teammates he had played with in the Jordan Brand Classic in high school. On the first day he came here, Yi Ge impressed the team members.
"Iguodala will be the best player in Arizona"
In the 2003–04 season, Iguodala became the first player in Arizona history to rank No. 1 in rebounds, assists and breaks, was named the team's MVP, was named to the Pacific Ten Conference (Pac-10) All-Tournament Team, and was also named a National Team of the Year honorary mention by The Associated Press. In the NCAA Pacific 10 league statistics, Iguodala ranked 14th in scoring and 5th in broken balls.
Throughout his college years, Andre Iguodala played in 62 games, making 34 starts, scoring 594 points (9.6 per game), 409 rebounds (6.6 per game) and 95 steals (1.53 per game).
Iguodala was awarded Howard, Ben Gordon, Livingston, Lore Deng, Jefferson, Hawk King Smith and other good players, and was finally picked by the Philadelphia 76ers with the ninth pick in the first round, and the first brother was undoubtedly lucky to come to Philadelphia and play next to the traffic player Iverson at that time.
In the 04-05 season, the first brother of the recruit Eggman started 82 games for the 76ers, averaging 9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.7 steals in 32.8 minutes per game, and the Philadelphia 76ers entered the playoffs that season with a 43-39 record in the sixth place in the East, although the first round was eliminated by the Pistons 1:4, but the comprehensive statistics of 9.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.8 steals per game satisfied management and fans, because of his excellent athleticism and explosive dunks. Since then, the nickname of Little AI has begun to circulate in the alliance.
In 2006, Ichigo participated in the Dunk Contest, and Iverson's rebound became one of the classics in history, although he lost to Little Potato Nate Robinson, but in terms of the creative difficulty of the dunk, I think Brother Yi is more worthy of winning the championship. The 06-07 season has reached the highest level of cooperation with Iverson in terms of data and many aspects. Played in 76 games and averaged 18.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. Unfortunately, the team did not make the playoffs, management gradually lost patience, and various factors, Iverson left Philadelphia after the season.
Later, Philadelphia slowly regarded the first brother as the cornerstone of the team, and the first brother also lived up to expectations, scoring a career season high of 19.9 points plus 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists, Philadelphia entered the playoffs 4 times, but still did not get good results. But the defensive end of the first brother in this period is very bright, 10-11 season was selected as the best defensive team second defense, 11-12 season was also selected as an All-Star, the defensive end has been playing steadily, but the performance of the offensive end is completely inconsistent with the standards of a team boss, the defect of shooting instability is also exposed to the public, 2 of the 4 playoffs shooting rate is less than 40%, Philadelphia had to build a variety of lineups around the first brother to cover up his defects, but this problem can not be solved, and finally Philadelphia chose to rebuild.
In the 12-13 season, this can be regarded as a turning point in the career of the first brother, who came to the Denver Nuggets. He played in 80 games for the Nuggets, averaging 13 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game. The playoffs meet the future brother Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors. (Before the game started, Warriors coach Mark Jackson received a call from their opponent Iguodala of the Nuggets, in which Iguodala told Jackson that someone on the Nuggets was going to do bad to Curry, so that the Warriors coaching staff and Curry should be careful.) Jackson didn't believe it, but he still asked Curry to say it, and Curry didn't quite believe it, because the opposite coach, George Carr, had just won the Coach of the Year. Brother Yi took advantage of his free time to run to Curry's side and told him that you must be careful, and they will attack you. In the end, the Nuggets lost 2-4 to the Warriors, but the outstanding performance of 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2 steals per game was that management knew that he had to smash the contract to stay. In the offseason, Nuggets management offered a five-year, $63 million contract to Ichigo, but how could Iguodala stay on this kind of team and continue to play.
With the recruitment of Curry, a brother used the Nuggets to open a similar contract for 48 million to join the Warriors, officially becoming Curry's "guard with a knife." "In the 13-14 season, he played in 63 games, averaging 9.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and his three-point shooting rate rose to 35.4%, and the Warriors entered the playoffs in sixth place in the regular season, meeting the Los Angeles Clippers led by Chris Paul, and finally lost seven games. The play of the first brother in the playoffs is crucial for the Warriors, averaging 13.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and the three-point shooting rate has risen to an outrageous 48.3%, and the brother who came to the Warriors is not the first choice of the team, although the ball is less and the score is low, but the first brother can concentrate on organization and defense, which is what he likes to do the most.
In the 14-15 season, the head coach hired Steve Kerr as the team's new head coach, and Cole directly put Green in the starting lineup and let the first brother play as a substitute, although he played less minutes and scored a new career low. But in the 21 games of the playoffs, Yi Ge showed unprecedented competitiveness, averaging 10.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, which may seem like mediocre statistics, but Yi Ge's role on the defensive end cannot be reflected in the data. Trailing the Cavaliers 1:2 in the finals, G4 Cole temporarily changed the lineup and brought Yi Ge back to the starter, and the Warriors' small lineup changed defenses indefinitely, and the Cavaliers were helpless, and finally won 3 consecutive games to win the championship. Yi Ge averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists per game and restrictions on James and was finally elected Finals MVP, which is the highlight of Yi Ge's career!
Ichigo has been playing as a backup player for the Golden State Warriors for years afterward, but you'll see him on the court in key moments, contributing a lot of incredible defense and offense.
In the 16-17 season, with the addition of Durant, the "Death Five" that everyone in the league feared was officially unveiled, and Ichigo's defense and organizational ability became the most important role in the "Death Five".
In the 18-19 season, after the injuries of Klay and Durant in the Finals caused the Warriors to be eliminated by the Raptors 2-4, Durant's departure also represented the dissolution of the "Death Five", and the team traded Iguodala to the Grizzlies for salary.
On February 7, 2020, the Grizzlies traded Iguodala to the Heat, a deal that did not attract much attention at the time, but Riley immediately signed a 2-year, 30 million contract with a brother that shocked the outside world, because the brother was 36 years old at the time.
Came to the Heat to play in 21 games, only 4.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists, shooting less than 30% from three-point range. This is arguably the worst season of his career, and the outside world doubts that Iguodala will still stay in this league.
Coming to the playoffs, this is a familiar stage for a brother, averaging only 4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in more than ten games from the first round to the East Final G5, but the shooting percentage has improved much more than the regular season, and the role of the defensive end cannot be reflected in data. G6 was ordered to play 27 minutes, shooting 5-of-5 (4-of-4 three-pointers) with 15 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, helping the Heat defeat the Celtics to stand on the stage of the Finals again.
In the 21-22 season, one brother made a decision to return to the Golden State! Averaging 4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, this time he is playing the locker room big brother, and he needs to help Kuminga Moody and others grow. Loud cheers and cheers on the sidelines again and again cheered and cheered, and the people of Golden State were excited.
Because Curry's "guard with a knife" is back!
2015、2017、2018、2022
One brother, Curry, Klay, and Green made a 4 gesture, which means that they have won a total of four championships together!
"Congratulations to Andre on ending a wonderful Hall of Fame career, one of the most unique players I've ever worked with, combining great intuition with great physical intelligence. He's definitely a winner and I'm very lucky to coach him. He is one of the main reasons why we hang these four championship flags. He was a key member of one of the great periods in NBA history. In many ways, Andre's willingness to make sacrifices to come off the bench in '14-15 set the tone for us. What kind of player he is, he is very smart, he is very good at both ends of the pitch and always one step ahead of other players. He completely complements the team because he is able to expose opposing defensive weaknesses and create opportunities for Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, or to remedy when defending at the other end, Andre is a special person. ”
"Andre Iguodala is a key member of the Golden State Warriors' four-time NBA and his contributions to our team will always be remembered, both on and off the court. His team-first principle, which we saw when he came to Golden State, set the tone for our success as much as the impact he brought on the defensive end. We look forward to lifting No. 9 high above Chase Center at some point in the future, and we wish him great success in his business career after retiring." ”
"I am grateful for every moment in 19 years, I am grateful to the people around me, and I am grateful for the failures, challenges and opportunities that allowed me to win. I've come a long way, and now, I'm ready to embark on my next journey. ”
Andre Iguodala's career has been full of ups and downs, but he has contributed to the team step by step with his hard work, both off and off the court. His career is a perfect example of where with the right mindset and attitude, you can shine and succeed anywhere.
What we can do, salute the 19-year veteran!
(Text/Los A. Madison Square Garden Security Captain)