Should Andre Iguodala make the Hall of Fame? It’s a unique case for one of the most unique players in history

Andre Iguodala formally retired as an NBA participant on Friday, and the debate has already began: Is Iggy a Hall of Famer? It’s a query with out a transparent resolution. If he will get in, he will have to be celebrated. If he does not, it would possibly not be some grave injustice, both. 

I’ll say it immediately out: I do not believe Iguodala had a Hall of Fame profession, and I do not believe he used to be a Hall of Fame participant. Yes, I consider the ones are two various things. No, I do not believe Iguodala rather checked both field.

But, guy, what a participant. Before we cross to any extent further, let’s make certain we do not lose sight of that. This man used to be one of the most flexible, and uniquely precious players of the fashionable technology. You at all times pay attention folks pronouncing we will by no means see some other Jordan, or some other LeBron, or some other Curry, however ask your self this: When may we see some other Iguodala?

It may well be a whilst. Because let me let you know, world-class athletes with world-class instincts do not develop on timber. Iguodala used to be a core element of a dynasty. If most effective for that, he is one of the rarest players in history. 

But, greater than that, merely the method he noticed and performed the sport used to be unique. He used to be an unbelievable athlete who most well-liked to suppose his method round the courtroom, who operated 3 chess strikes forward when, for a very long time, he may just’ve simply leapt over the entire board. 

The reverse of the superficial athletes we malign for by no means nurturing nuance, Iguodala noticed, and taken, the sport’s grayest spaces in technicolor. He used to be additionally one of the very best perimeter defenders and easiest IQ players of his era, and an offensive beacon of all this is precious out of doors of scoring. 

It’s no longer that Iguodala could not rating, nevertheless it used to be by no means his strong point. Early in his profession he used to be miscast as a go-to man with the Sixers. Even in his top he by no means hit the 20 PPG mark, and he averaged a coloration over 11 PPG for his profession. He made one All-Star crew and no All-NBA groups. 

While nonetheless at his bodily top, Iguodala, via distinctive feature of his scenario but additionally in a display of admirable humility, deemphasized the portions of the sport that have a tendency to result in the ones sorts of distinctions, and it resulted in the most necessary quantity of each his profession and Hall of Fame resume: 4 championships. 

“I’m not a ring culture guy, but I’ve benefitted from that,” Iguodala just lately mentioned when discussing the deserves of his Hall of Fame candidacy on the “Old Man and the Three” podcast. He then adopted with an intriguing concept on Hall of Fame inclusion. 

“I think there should be tiers of the Hall of Fame,” Iguodala steered. “I’m no longer a Hall of Famer for those who inquire from me. If you inquire from me, no, no, no, no. Those guys [Hall of Famers], they’d no flaws. And I feel I used to be excellent, however like Kobe [Bryant], LeBron [James], c’mon, I will be able to’t do this. So much of us cannot do this. They should be in their very own like other global. And then MJ [Michael Jordan} should be in his own different world. That’s how good MJ was.”

This will never happen, but for the sake of having a nuanced discussion, Iguodala is on to something here. When we think of Hall of Fame, we think best of the best, and Iguodala was never that. But neither was Mo Cheeks, and yet he’s in Springfield. 

Cheeks also made his mark as a top-flight defender who averaged the same 11 PPG as Iguodala. He won one championship, with the 1983 Sixers, and wasn’t close to the best player on that team. On equivalency, Iguodala should be in any Hall that includes Cheeks, but two wrongs don’t make a right. Cheeks, if we’re in the business of being honest, probably wasn’t a Hall of Fame player. 

If there were tiers, as Iguodala suggests, perhaps it’s a different story. The all-time greats in Tier 1: Jordan, LeBron, Kareem, Magic, Kobe, Bird, Shaq, Duncan, Oscar, Hakeem, Curry, West, Wilt, Russell, Durant, Dr. J, Isiah, Moses, and so on down the line. Giannis will eventually be in this group. Same for Jokić. 

Tier 2 is the perennial All-NBA types — not quite all-time greats, but no-doubt first-balloters: Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen and Dwyane Wade come to mind. This, by far, is the group that comprises the most Hall of Famers. James Harden will eventually be in it. Same for Carmelo Anthony, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. 

Tier 3 resides squarely on the fence. Reggie Miller averaged 18 points for his career and never made a first or second-team All-NBA. I would argue that Iguodala meant at least as much, if not more, to winning at the highest level as Miller ever did. At the very least Iggy was certainly a more complete player, only without the leading-man moments that run on a vintage NBA TV loop. 

Then again, Miller had to carry his teams. Iguodala never had to do that. Or when he did, they weren’t that good. We call it a sacrifice that he took on the sixth-man role for Golden State as if he was a superstar who willingly went to the bench, but realistically he was the fifth-best player on that first title team, and even that could be argued against. Andrew Bogut definitely had a case. 

Sure, Iguodala was better than Harrison Barnes and was therefore good enough to start. But that doesn’t make you a Hall of Famer. The truth is, Iguodala was better suited for a supporting role the whole time; his transitioning from an overtasked “star” in Philadelphia, and to some degree in Denver, to a star in his role in Golden State wasn’t so much a sacrifice as a stroke of career fortune. 

He was perfect on those Warriors teams. Absolutely perfect. But those teams were also perfect for him in that they covered for what he couldn’t do. If Iguodala doesn’t hook up with Curry, Durant, Klay and Green, he’s just a one-time All-Star with a couple of second-round playoff appearances. This Hall of Fame thing isn’t even a discussion. 

But he did hook up with the right team at the right time. He saw Steph Curry and the Warriors coming when his Nuggets lost to them in the first round of the 2013 playoffs. He knew he could add elements that Golden State lacked, and he was right. He unlocked so much of what that team did on both ends of the court, and he was rewarded for it with the 2015 Finals MVP. But to this day, anyone who argues that Iguodala actually deserved that distinction over Curry loses all credibility in those sorts of discussions. 

Iguodala was immensely valuable. He was never, not even for one second, more valuable than Curry. Not in that series. Not ever. And that’s important. It’s easy to over-romanticize the “little-things” players. It’s your chance to look smart. The Finals MVP voters thought they were being smart in 2015. They weren’t. 

Years from now, will Hall of Fame voters look smart if they grant entrance to Iguodala? No. But they won’t look dumb, either. As I said from the start, reasonable minds can disagree on this. If Iggy gets in, it will be fine. If he doesn’t, it will also be fine. 

That’s how it is for Tier 3 candidates. They can go either way. I suspect it will be an equally interesting discussion when Jrue Holiday retires. A champion. A great defender. But not quite a great player. In the end, being that this tiers idea, as much sense as it makes, is never going to happen, all voters can do is operate on the strict standard of true greatness. To me, Iguodala is, or was, a really good player who falls just short of that standard.