Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
There are so many people who were shocked to see Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James not win the NBA Finals MVP after his historic performance in the series. The monstrous numbers he put up were certainly good enough to warrant the Bill Russell Award. However, Andre Iguodala’s unselfish style of play is the main reason he won the NBA Finals MVP. Not to mention, he played a huge role in the Golden State Warriors winning their first title since 1975.
“I think the last couple games, he played well, he played great,” James said of Iguodala after the loss in Game 6. “Especially offensively, he made us defend him, he knocked down open shots.
“It’s not one-on-one. But I think his ability to play multiple positions for their team along with some of those other guys allowed their team to be so dynamic. You know, he made us pay. He made us pay tonight with big shots, timely shots, getting out on the break, getting rebounds, getting assists. He was pretty good for their team.”
Iguodala, who was an All-Star in his last season with the Denver Nuggets in 2012, went to the Warriors with the idea that he would be taking his experience as a veteran starter to help the team out.
That may have been the case in his first season with the team, but that certainly did not happen this past season. Instead, he took a bench role because it was what the Warriors needed to be successful. In fact, his first start did not occur until Game 4 of the NBA Finals, when head coach Steve Kerr made the wise decision to match him up against Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov. The move forced Mozgov to defend a smaller, more athletic player, which threw off his game enough to give Golden State a massive advantage around the basket.
The swing in the series was in full effect.
Iguodala playing unselfishly certainly raised the eyebrows for the 11 media members who vote for the NBA Finals MVP. With that said, his superb defense against James, who is widely considered the best player in the world, is what sealed the deal. With Iguodala on the court, James saw his shooting percentage drop from 0.440 to 0.381 and his points per game go from 35 to 26. Plus, Cavaliers players shot just 37.2 percent from the field when Iguodala was the defender.
Even though James’ offensive performance was jaw-dropping, the fact that Iguodala was able to stifle him at times says it all. Not to mention, as I already stated, Iguodala’s production led directly to the Warriors winning the championship. It is safe to say if the Cavaliers won, James would be the MVP.
Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
