Ah, the good ol’ days of the Dubs Dynasty.
Everything changed for the Warriors – and the NBA – on July 4, 2017, when Kevin Durant announced he would be joining Golden State as a free agent.
The Warriors had just collapsed in the NBA Finals and surrendered a 3-1 lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while also losing their grasp on being named the greatest team of all-time following a record 73-9 regular season.
Looking back on those days, Andre Iguodala said the Warriors were so good and confident that practice wasn’t even that necessary. Iguodala recently appeared on The Par 3 Podcast and shared a glimpse of his work schedule when KD was in the building.
“When we had KD and we knew we was gonna win every game … practice was only like 20 minutes,” Iguodala said. “Practice was just, ‘All right, we need to get on the same page. We’re gonna put in these two new plays and we need to watch film. It was nothing.
“I would get to the gym at 8:30, eat breakfast, then at 9 I’m lifting weights. By 10 I get on the court and do all my work, shooting, conditioning – everything I need to do. Practice at 11? I already did my work. Anything new? Cool. Young fellas – y’all good? This is what we do today, be a good teammate, lock in with my guys. 11:45 I was in the car. I was at the (golf) course by 12, 12:15.”
That’s a nice work-life balance for Andre, who loves him some golf. Hit the links on the daily and still get a couple rings.
The Warriors, of course, went to the Finals in all three of Durant’s seasons with the squad. They won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018 before losing in six games to the Toronto Raptors in 2019, when Durant (Achilles) and Klay Thompson (ACL) both suffered serious injuries.
Does Iguodala have one more run left in him?
Iguodala is yet to announce his retirement, though last year he said that the 2022-23 season was going to be his last rodeo. Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area recently spoke with Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr., who said he’s expecting the 39-year-old Iguodala to finally hang ‘em up this summer.
“We’ve communicated some this summer already,” Dunleavy told Poole. “We’ll see. We’re not going to close the door on anything. But my guess, and my belief, is that he won’t be back. … But it’s Andre Iguodala. So, you never know.”
