Former Sixers in the Finals

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

While catching up with an old friend who was in town last night, it got me thinking about old friends of the Sixers who are still alive and fighting to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy. As we wait interminably for the Finals to start, Sixers fans without a rooting interest might want to hop on the Golden State bandwagon, as all 3 former Sixers will be suiting up in the gorgeous blue, white, and yellow Warriors threads.

Andre Iguodala

Andre played close to a decade here in Philadelphia, playing shutdown defense, acting as a point forward, and even winning a dunk contest (at least in the hearts and minds of Sixers fans and any rational observer, if not the judges). However, for whatever reason, a large section of the fanbase always expected him to be some kind of pure shooter, 25 ppg type, which was never the role he was made to play. Ironically after his lone All-Star appearance, he was shipped to Denver as part of the ill-fated Andrew Bynum deal, but a year later in Golden State is where he finally found the perfect fit.

Although Iguodala’s numbers are down across the board and he has come off the bench this season in favor of Harrison Barnes, he’s still making a huge impact on the game by filling the swiss army knife / jack-of-all-trades role he was destined for all along. He can hit the occasional three or finish in transition, but he doesn’t need to do much of that because Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are around. He can act as a point forward for short stints if you want to free those guys up off the ball. And of course, he’s still around to lock down opposing wings when called upon, as evidenced by James Harden’s 13 turnovers in Golden State’s series-clinching victory. I hope Golden State fans appreciate everything Iguodala brings to the table like a large section of Sixers fans never did.

Marreese Speights

With the Splash Brothers drawing the majority of the attention from opposing defenses, there are plenty of open shots to go around for the rest of the Warriors. One man who knows what to do when he has an open shot is Marreese Speights. The former Sixers first-round pick has thrived as a key reserve in Steve Kerr’s offensive system, averaging a career-best 10.4 ppg while averaging just 15.9 minutes of action. His job when he comes in is simply to shoot the ball and no one has a mindset more attuned to such a task.

Unfortunately for Speights and the Warriors, he has been out with a calf injury since midway through the Memphis series. It speaks to Golden State’s incredible depth that with Speights out, they could just plug in a former All-Star in David Lee. One good thing about the week layoff (at least for Golden State) is that it gives Speights additional time to recover and possibly make a return in the Finals.

Justin Holiday

Brought in to Philadelphia on a couple 10-day contracts back in 2012-13, seemingly to throw a bone to younger brother Jrue Holiday, Justin struggled as a Sixer and failed to separate himself from the other D-league fodder the team was cycling through the roster. After playing a season over in Hungary, Holiday seemed destined to be an international player through the rest of his playing days.

However, after a solid summer league performance, he caught on with the Warriors and was a viable reserve guard for them throughout this season. He appeared in 59 games, shooting a below average but still reasonable 32.1% from three, highlighted by a 23-point effort against the Nuggets in a game Golden State was resting the starters. Holiday has received just a handful of cameo appearances as rotations shrink in the playoffs, so don’t expect to see him on the court barring a couple injuries.

So go ahead and root for a trio of former Sixers to become champions, because it won’t be too long before Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, Dario Saric, and an army of lottery picks and second-rounders are coming for the crown.