A four-time NBA champion, NBA Finals MVP, Olympic gold medalist, and legendary alumnus of the Arizona men’s basketball program, former Wildcat Andre Iguodala’s 19-year NBA career came to a close Friday.
“It’s just the right time,” the 39-year-old Iguodala told Andscape on Friday in a telephone interview. “Time started to get limited for me and I didn’t want to put anything in the back seat. I didn’t want to have to try to delegate time anymore. Especially with on the court, off the court with family. A lot.”
Iguodala hanging up his sneakers — at least in an NBA capacity — means that the last Lute Olson-coached Wildcat to play in the NBA has stepped off the floor.
That streak started 38 years ago, in 1985, with 34 Wildcats coached by the late UA and college basketball icon becoming NBA draft picks. Several of them, including Iguodala, have gone on to excel in coaching and broadcasting, among other occupations.
Iguodala, who played two seasons under Olson from 2002-04, averaged 12.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and six assists per game as a UA sophomore in 2003-24, finishing as an All-Pac-10 selection that season. He was the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2004 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Iguodala, who appeared in Tucson at McKale Center as recently as Sept. 29 when he was on hand for the UA’s season-kickoff Red-Blue Showcase — Iguodala judged the current Wildcats’ dunk competition — said Friday family had a lot to do with his decision.
“You want to play at a high level. But then family is a lot. My son is 16 and then two girls. So, (I’m) looking forward to seeing them grow up in those important years,” he told Andscape.
Iguodala played in 1,231 NBA games. He spent eight seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, one in Denver, six with Golden State, two in Miami and the last two back with the Warriors. He was part of NBA champions in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022 and the MVP of the Finals in 2015.
Arizona’s Andre Iguodala grabs a loose ball during Arizona’s 106-70 pasting of UCLA on Feb. 13, 2003, at McKale Center.
Over his career, he averaged 11.3 points — including a high of 19.9 with the 76ers in 2007-08 — 4.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists. He made his only All-Star appearance in 2012 with the 76ers.
Iguodala is the highest-earning ex-Wildcat of all time, making just over $185 million in salary (not including endorsements).
— The Associated Press and the Star’s Justin Spears contributed to this report
Former Arizona Basketball players Jason Terry, center, and Andre Iguodala, right, smile at Jim Rosborough, former Arizona Basketball associate head coach, after Rosborough’s speech during the University of Arizona’s Memorial Service for Lute Olson at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. on Sept. 12th, 2021.
VIDEO: Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd speaks at Pac-12 Media Day on Wednesday, Oct. 11, on how he’s “stylistically, I’m always looking to grow” in terms of “different layers we’re trying to add to our system.” (Video courtesy Pac-12 Networks).
