Andre Iguodala Isn’t Letting Critics Of His Offense In 2013-14 Bother Him (Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account)
A few weeks ago Tom Tolbert and Ray Woodson hosted the Golden State Warriors very own Andre Iguodala on Bay Area radio station KTCT 1050AM to discuss Andre’s All-NBA Defensive First Team award, but that turned out to be just scratching the surface.
Iguodala also explained how he is handling the criticisms of his subpar offensive output from last season. His usual 60,000-foot take on the game of basketball shone through once more.
After finding out that Iguodala has been taking a marketing class at Arizona this summer, Tolbert asked Iguodala what the First-Team All-Defense selection meant to him.
“After you feel like you got snubbed a few times,” Iguodala said, “You don’t really think about it. It’s like ‘whatever’, at that point. And when you finally make it, it’s not as exciting as I thought it would be, but it’s kinda like, finally.
“So, usually when you make it and you kind of have that defensive staple, you can keep the momentum going and make it a couple times after that,” Iguodala added, “If I make it three or four more times, that’s when I’ll be really satisfied.”
Tolbert then inquired about his lack of offense last season.
“I’ve played in a really hostile environment, throughout the first eight years of my career,” said Iguodala, who was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2004 and was expected to carry the torch for the team upon the departure of Allen Iverson halfway through the 2006-07 season, then expected to do the same upon his trade in 2012 to the Denver Nuggets, “You kind of become immune to it to where it doesn’t bother you.”
“You still see the bigger picture. You go out there and play, and still know that you have an impact on the game, without having to force or try to prove. And you know a certain group or demographic of basketball fans prove them wrong,” Iguodala added, possibly referring to the NBA bloggers that came up with the new advanced stat, “Real Plus/Minus”, which had him among the leaders all season.
After years of building a reputation as a defensive stopper, even being the last selection onto Team USA for the 2012 Olympics in London to fill that role, Iguodala finally got his due recognition, earning the fifth-most votes from NBA media for the All-Defense Teams shortly after the season ended.
“With the new metrics and things like that, it helps,” Iguodala said, “You try to let the results or the end result of the game, which is winning and losing, kind of speak for itself.”
[NOTE: Poor Man’s Commish contributed to this report.]
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