After a few playoff eliminations that led to the replacement of Mark Jackson with Steve Kerr, the scrappy Golden State Warriors won their first NBA championship since 1975 in 2015. Nearly a decade later, this win started the greatest modern rivalry in the league, between LeBron James and Stephen Curry, but it also signaled the completion of the NBA’s three-point revolution. Likewise, nearly a decade later, ex-Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala still couldn’t believe he won Finals MVP over Curry that year.
In a recent appearance on Kai Cenat’s Twitch stream, the legendary role player expressed surprise that the league gave him the honor instead of his legendary teammate.
“I don’t know why they gave it to me, they were supposed to give [Finals MVP] to [Stephen Curry],” Andre Iguodala said, per this clip shared by ClutchPoints on X, formerly Twitter.
Iggy’s role in the Warriors’ 2015 title
Stephen Curry detractors often use the Finals MVP matter against him in GOAT debates, asking the question: If Curry really was the best player on the team, then why did Andre Iguodala win it in 2015 and Kevin Durant did it twice in 2017 and 2018?
However, Curry did win one in 2022, hopefully putting that narrative to bed for good. Yet, why did the NBA give the honor to Iguodala in 2015?
That year, LeBron James re-signed with the Cavaliers, ready to make good on his promise to win a title for his home city after winning back-to-back titles with the Miami Heat.
Bron led the Cavs team, who’d just wasted their No. 1 pick on Anthony Bennett the year before, all the way to the Finals. However, injuries to Kyrie Irving and offseason trade acquisition Kevin Love hampered them against the Warriors, and they lost the series in six games.
Moreover, Andre Iguodala had the assignment of defending James, though the King still averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists. On the other hand, Curry averaged 26.0 points and 6.3 assists against Cleveland, though arguably that team had no one to guard him on the perimeter.
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The importance of role players
Of course, Andre Iguodala’s role on that Warriors squad went beyond the box score. Besides playing as a primary defender, he was the team’s main connector on offense, allowing Steph and Klay to reach their spots quickly through his passing and basketball IQ.
Likewise, people could argue that the Warriors wouldn’t have won a ring without Iggy and Draymond Green, because they were perfect pieces for Kerr’s motion offense that heavily relied on screens and passing to get the Splash Brothers wide-open looks from three.
In that sense, Iguodala deserved his Finals MVP, since he allowed Curry to thrive while taking on the task of “stopping” LeBron James for six games. A year later, James made the iconic block on Iguodala to help the Cavs beat the 73-9 Warriors team in Game 7 to complete the greatest comeback in Finals history.
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