Andre Iguodala is headed to his 6th straight NBA Finals and he would be meeting a familiar foe in Lakers’ LeBron James.
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Andre, an NBA veteran who’s playing his 16th season in the league right now is a 3x NBA Champion. He would be eyeing a 4th ring to his finger, with his team Heat making their way to the Finals.
Iguodala becomes the 10th ever player in the NBA history to mark his 6th straight NBA Finals appearance. He is bound to face another player from the same list there, LeBron James, who had been to 8 straight finals, before the 2018-19 season.
Iguodala went to the finals 5 straight times with the Warriors. They had a 3-2 record in their five trips, falling short in 2016 to LeBron James’ Cavs and in 2019 to the Raptors. In the very first Finals series with the Warriors, Andre won the Finals MVP. In all of the Warriors-Cavs matchups, Dre was the most successful in guarding LBJ.
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“He’s going to make you pay when you make mistakes”: Andre on LeBron James
Andre Iguodala is all set to meet LeBron James for the 5th time in the NBA Finals.
The first 4 times haven’t been very kind to James, with Andre getting the upper hand and winning 3-1 in those 4 meetings. Upon being asked about the tall task of meeting LeBron’s Lakers, “You just got to have that will, understanding you’re guarding the top talent ever,” Iguodala said.
“He’s going to make you pay when you make mistakes. You just try to play mistake-free basketball. Put him in vulnerable situations where you feel like you got the advantage, whether it’s a shot or a pass or where he is defensively.”
Iguodala confident that the Heat can win it all
The amount of familiarity in the Finals series is unparalleled. Iguodala and LeBron have gone head-to-head 4 times. The last time Heat were in the Finals was with LeBron. Even though the Heat enter the Finals as underdogs, they are very confident about their chances.
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“We prepare better than anyone I’ve seen in terms of that grit, that grind and embracing,” Iguodala said. “We just have that chip on our shoulder of hearing, ‘You’re not the most talented.’ So, we take that and say, ‘How do we get the most of the guys on our team and make everyone a weapon on both ends of the floor.’
Andre continued and said, “It’s the true essence of maximizing the team that you have. It’s a genius in the organization for strategically taking certain guys in certain situations and bringing them in to make that perfect fit.”
The Heat-Lakers matchup in the Finals is going to be one exciting series and we can’t wait for it!
Game 1 of the NBA Finals takes place on Wednesday at 9 PM ET.
