SAN FRANCISCO — When the Warriors signed 37-year-old Andre Iguodala to a one-year, veteran minimum deal in August, many could have dismissed it as a ceremonial contract. Through two games with Golden State, Iguodala is proving 2021-22 isn’t merely a victory lap for his 18-year NBA career.
It did feel like a bit of a homecoming for Iguodala Thursday night, though.
Playing in front of the first packed crowd at Chase Center in 19 months, the Warriors introduced every player on the roster (except for Klay Thompson, who is expected to get his big welcome in a couple months) and the fans erupted once Iguodala’s name was announced.
The roar rivaled those for Steph Curry and Draymond Green. At times, it felt like a flashback to Oracle Arena Thursday night.
The crowd went nuts again when the PA man made a special announcement for Iguodala’s initial substitution at the 3:34 mark of the first quarter. Midway through the next period, Iguodala showed off his vintage clamps, stealing the ball from Paul George near the timeline before soaring in for a slam.
“Athlete as always,” Steph Curry said about Iguodala after the game. “He works on himself, his body. Like I said, he’s not just here to be an honorary Warrior on the bench. He’s got a lot left in the tank and he’s showing it defensively, turning a stop into a transition dunk.
“He had a couple in practice in training camp. You could tell he was feeling good. He was letting everybody know he’s still got it.”
A quick peek at the box score and you might not be impressed at Iguodala’s line: four points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block in 24 minutes. But coach Steve Kerr relied on Iguodala in the fourth quarter as part of his closing lineup with Curry, Damion Lee, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green.
Iguodala was on the floor when the Warriors went on a key 9-0 run early in the fourth quarter. After taking a breather, Iguodala substituted for Otto Porter Jr. with 3:50 remaining before sealing the victory.
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“Definitely a comfort level there,” Curry said. “Again he’s making his presence felt. Especially today, he forced PG (Paul George) into two tough threes in the beginning of the fourth quarter, took him out of rhythm a little bit.
“He just knows how to play basketball, he knows how to impact winning, he knows where to be. You don’t gotta tell him anything. He kinda sees everything happening one step ahead. That familiarity is huge, because you can rely on him in big situations. The minutes that he’s playing, he’s making a huge impact.”
During Thursday night’s post-game presser, Kerr noted that Iguodala played a key role in helping the Miami Heat reach the 2020 NBA Finals. Green also relayed a conversation he had this summer with Olympic teammate and Heat star Bam Adebayo, who praised Iguodala for his basketball IQ.
“[Adebayo] was just talking about how easy [Iguodala] made the game for him,” Green said. “I think everybody who’s had the opportunity to play with Andre feels the same way.”
Iguodala played 23 minutes in the season-opening win against the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday. On Wednesday, however, Kerr told 95.7 The Game’s “Damon & Ratto” that Iguodala won’t carry this big of a workload throughout the season.
“Obviously, he’s not going to play 24 minutes every night,” Kerr said. “He’s not going to even play every night. But you can see the impact he’s going to make on our team, for sure.”
