NBA: Brooklyn Nets at Golden State Warriors

Last season, Andre Iguodala joined the Golden State Warriors and was thrown into the starting five along with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, David Lee, and Andrew Bogut. This acquisition forced sophomore Harrison Barnes to the bench. Although his numbers on offense dipped, his defensive presence and effort were still on display. The league recognized his defensive prowess and named him to the All-NBA Defensive First Team. He instantly bonded and became “one of the guys”.

-== Warriors Ride BART Home After Community Work ==-

This season, under the leadership of coach Kerr, Iguodala was moved to the bench in favor of Barnes. The move was supposed to give the bench a ball handler and play maker. 11 games in and Iguodala has career lows across the major categories only averaging 5.8 points, 2.7 assists, and 3 rebounds per game. As long as the Warriors are grabbing victories, all of that doesn’t matter to Iggy. According to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group, Iguodala is unselfishly focused on making the entire team better:

Playing with the dynamic “Splash Brothers”, an improving Draymond Green, and a rejuvenated Andrew Bogut has benefited Barnes the most. With the potent offense, Barnes is consistently found wide open and he’s capitalizing on his opportunities. After starting all 11 games, Barnes is nearly averaging 12 points and 5 rebounds per game. On 27 three-point tries, Barnes has splashed 13 of them (48 percent). According to Jordan Ramirez, Kerr is acknowledges Iguodala’s sacrifice has paid off:

While the team has fallen into a great groove, Iggy loves the position he’s in. His teammates are getting better and the chemistry is getting stronger. As the veteran, Iguodala has taken it upon himself to become the role model for a team striving to accomplish the ultimate goal of winning an NBA title.

In Case You Missed It: