Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has re-signed restricted free-agent swingman Andre Iguodala. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Multiple reports say the deal is for six years and $80 million.
“Andre is one of the top players in the NBA and he was a key factor in our turnaround last season,” said Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider. “Keeping him a part of our roster was an important off-season move for us. I’m very excited that he has decided to remain a Philadelphia 76er.”
“Ed Stefanski worked very hard this off-season on adding key players to our line-up and keeping our core roster in tact,” said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. “Keeping Andre as a 76er was important to us, as we want to expand on our successes from last season.”
“We have maintained since the beginning of this process that Andre was a main priority for us because he is one of the best all-around young players in the league and an integral part to the success of our team,” Stefanski said. “We are excited that we are able to keep a player with Andre’s talent, athleticism and work ethic here in Philadelphia.”
Iguodala (6-6, 207) was originally selected with the ninth overall pick by Philadelphia in the 2004 NBA Draft following his sophomore season at the University of Arizona. He has played and started 322 of a possible 328 games in his four-year career, averaging 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.85 steals in 37.5 minutes per game while shooting 46.8% from the floor, 33.1% from 3-point range and 76.5% from the line.
Last season, the 24-year-old averaged a career-high 19.9 points per game and is one of 10 players under the age of 25 who ranked among the top-30 scorers. Iguodala is also one of a handful of players who have increased their scoring average in each of the past four seasons. Over the past two seasons, the Sixers have compiled a record of 46-30 (.605) in games in which Iguodala has scored 20+ points and 24-58 (.293) in games in which he played and scored below 20 points.
Iguodala also averaged 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.09 steals last season, joining Caron Butler as the only players among qualifiers to average at least 19.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.00 steals. In 2006-07, Iguodala joined Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Tracy McGrady as the only players to average at least 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
Since he entered the league in 2004-05, Iguodala has the third most steals of any player, trailing only Shawn Marion and Allen Iverson. Iguodala ranked sixth in the NBA in steals last season and had almost as many steal (160) as turnovers (167) over the final 66 games.
In 2006, Iguodala was named MVP of the 2006 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge during All-Star Weekend while also finishing second in the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk competition. The past two summers, Iguodala was a member of the U.S. Select Team which helped prepare the Senior National Team for the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship and the 2008 Olympics.
