Being enshrined in the Hall of Fame is one of the most prestigious honors a basketball player can ask for. Currently, there are only about 448 inductees in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame. However, former Golden State Warriors star Andre Iguodala wants to make this elite group much more exclusive. During a recent appearance on JJ Redick’s The Old Man and The Three podcast, Iguodala revealed his proposal of adding tiers to the Hall-of-Fame. Shaquille O’Neal, an esteemed member of the Hall of Fame, seems to agree with Iggy’s proposal.
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During the podcast, Iguodala also claimed that he was not accomplished enough to make it to the Hall Of Fame. However, the 39-year-old has had a distinguished career in the NBA despite his humility. Over the span of 19 years, Iguodala has been selected to an All-Star team (in 2012) and two All-Defensive teams.
The former Arizona Wildcat won four NBA Championships with the Warriors and was even named the NBA Finals MVP for the 2015 series. Lastly, the slasher has managed to win two Gold medals for Team USA – one each at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympic Games. Irrespective of what he thinks, his resume certainly makes an argument for a Hall Of Fame-worthy career.
Shaquille O’Neal agrees with Iguodala’s Hall of Fame take
On Redick’s The Old Man and The Three podcast, the panel of JJ Redick, Andre Iguodala, and Evan Turner – discussed a bunch of topics at length. At one point in the nearly 100-minute episode, Iggy revealed a wild idea of adding tiers to the Hall Of Fame. After explicitly making it clear that he didn’t believe that he deserved a spot in the Hall of Fame, the elite defender explained how superstars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Michael Jordan, with perfect careers deserved to be in their own realm.
“I think there should be tiers of the Hall Of Fame. I’m not a Hall Of Famer if you ask me. Those guys, they had no flaws and I think I was good. But like Kobe and LeBron… Come on man, I can’t do that and a lot of us can’t do that. They should be in their different world. And [Michael Jordan] should be in his different world, that’s how good MJ was,” Iguodala told Redick.
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Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most accomplished centers in the history of the game. If there were to be tiers included in the Hall Of Fame, we know for a fact that O’Neal would be in the top-most domain. Sharing Iggy’s words on his Instagram Story, the TNT analyst clearly seemed to co-sign the idea.
Shaq shares Iggy’s thoughts on needing tiers for the Hall of Fame pic.twitter.com/gBw0ws88Ye
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) September 23, 2023
What would be the requirements for each tier? How will players from different leagues be in the same tier? While Iggy’s ideas are certainly fresh and interesting, it will be quite difficult to incorporate them.
Andre Iguodala lauds LeBron James for introducing small ball in modern basketball
The Golden State Warriors were one of the franchises that first used small ball effectively. Andre Iguodala, standing at 6ft 6″, often played the power forward position during the Warriors’ 2015 title run. However, Iguodala gave credit to LeBron James for introducing the concept of small ball lineups.
With Chris Bosh playing at the center, the Heat used this small ball lineup and advanced to four consecutive Finals. Out of the four trips, the Florida side managed to win two.
