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Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala will undergo surgery next week for a fractured left wrist.
Iguodala suffered the injury during Monday’s win over the Phoenix Suns at Chase Center.
More should be known about a possible return date following the surgery.
The Warriors are 36-33 this season, which tied them with the Clippers for the 5th best record in the Western conference.
Iguodala has played in just eight games this season, averaging 2.1 points in 14.1 minutes per game.
On opening night Tuesday, the Warriors bench did big things in the team’s win over the Lakers. This may be a sign of things to come. Via the San Jose Mercury News:
There’s something special happening at the end of the Warriors roster, or at least Steve Kerr believes so. Just look at the box score from Tuesday night.
Two key numbers: 12 and 55. As in 12 Warriors saw the court, and the ones who didn’t start contributed 55 points. That kind of bench play allowed the Warriors to skirt by the Lakers on a cold shooting night from Steph Curry. It also conjured in Kerr’s mind memories of, we all can agree, pretty good times.
“It just feels like five or six years ago,” Kerr said following the opening night win, “when we just had guys up and down the roster who could play. … We’ve got vets coming off the bench who just know how to play (and) know how to win.”
It starts with Andre Iguodala, the sixth man extraordinaire back anchoring the second unit after two years in Memphis and Miami.
But he’s surrounded by a new supporting cast, one that the Warriors believe is a significant upgrade from a year ago in their fit within the team’s style and philosophy.
The Warriors are still awaiting a return from injury of two very key players: veteran star shooting guard Klay Thompson and young center James Wiseman.
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Once an NBA player is in his mid 30’s, there is nothing surprising about retirement talk. The only exceptions to that would perhaps be if a player was still at his best yet talking about hanging the sneakers up earlier than expected, or if he was clearly all washed up yet insisting on playing many more years. The extremes. Anything in the middle, there’s no shock. Still, it’s always interesting to keep up with how players feel about their career wrapping up. Here’s NBC Sports Bay Area on Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala, who will turn 35 years old this coming January:
Andre Iguodala is counting down the remaining years of his NBA career. No need to count the days or weeks, because others have been doing that since, oh, about 2015.
“I’m going to be done soon,” he told NBC Sports Bay Area this week. “I could probably play a legit five more years, but I’ll probably max out at three more after this year – maybe three more.
“But if I’m not here, that will weigh heavily on what I will do. I possibly have another year here – if we win. That’s it. I know that. I’m fine with it.”
Possibly? Reminded that he is under contract for the 2019-20 season, at 17.2 million, the final year of the three-year, $48 million deal he signed in July 2017, Iguodala waves it off.
Since joining the Warriors in the 2013-14 season, Iguodala has yet to average double-digit points. But his defense and various intangibles as a veteran leader has definitely been helpful. This season he’s putting up just 4.5 points per game, but also a decent 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 22.8 minutes per game of playing time.
The Warriors won the NBA championship last night. And although the award could easily have gone to guard Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala was named winner of the 2015 NBA Finals MVP award. Here’s the San Francisco Chronicle reporting:
All season long, Andre Iguodala had to answer the same questions over and over: How did he feel about not starting? How did he feel about coming off the bench? As an Olympic gold medalist and former All-Star, didn’t it bother him to sit?
Iguodala, true to his nature, never once bristled at the line of questioning. Never once did he give any indication of frustration. Instead, he patiently recited the company line: The team comes before any one individual. He was willing to do whatever the team needed to win.
In the NBA Finals, Iguodala’s patience and maturity paid huge dividends for the Warriors. Tasked with defending the best player in the world, Iguodala turned in the performance of a lifetime. Iguodala slowed down LeBron James just enough for the Warriors to win their first title in 40 years. And Iguodala found enough life in his legs to provide a real spark on offense, too.
After scoring a season-high 25 points in Tuesday night’s title-clinching win, Iguodala was named the NBA Finals MVP.
The Philadelphia 76ers are off to a great start. Even with their first loss of the season, basketball has been fun in Philly so far this season. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer:
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The 76ers team that people expected to see this season finally surfaced Monday night.
The Sixers struggled from the field and were flat-out overmatched against the Golden State Warriors, who cruised to a 110-90 victory in front of 11,089 at the Wells Fargo Center.
But perhaps the biggest blow for the Sixers (3-1) was the inability to stop Andre Iguodala.
The former Sixer made a career-high seven three-pointers on 11 attempts en route to 32 points. Twenty-seven of his points came before intermission. The 6-foot-6 swingman, who played only 20 seconds of the fourth quarter, also finished with three assists, three rebounds, three steals, and a blocked shot.
Iguodala had scored just 26 points altogether, with three three-pointers, in the Warriors’ first three games.