Iguodala as a Hall of Famer? Absolutely.

There was a well written article in the East Bay Times, written by Danny Emerman, making a case for Andre Iguodala to be elected to the NBA Hall of Fame. The hurdle is that while the NBA glorifies the ‘team concept’, it rewards individual accomplishments instead of those players who put the team first. The stats show Mr. Iguodala was a ‘team first’ player, a player who made his team better. In his last year at Philadelphia, Mr. Iguodala’ a team had a winning record at 35-31. After he left, Philadelphia had a losing record (34-38)

When he joined the Denver Nuggets, they won 19 more games than the year before. After he left, the Nuggets lost 21 more games than the year before.

He increased the Warriors’ wins by 4 (from 47 wins 51) in his first year, followed by three championships, before he was traded after a 57-25 season. He ended up in Miami with another appearance in the NBA Finals.

The Warriors wnt from a record of 57-25 to 15-50 the year after Mr. Iguodala left. They went from 39-33 to 53-29 after he returned, and won their 4th championship.

There are reasons other than the presence and absence of Mr. Iguodala to a team’s won-loss record, such as the loss or unavailability of other players (Carmelo Anthony in Denver, Curry, Durant and Thompson at Golden State). But the fact remains that Mr. Iguodala made every team he played on better. Of its’ four championships in recent years, the Warriors won two without Kevin Durant. They didn’t win any without Iguodala.

One of the biggest reasons for winning or losing close games is turnovers. In recent games this year, both Curry and Green made critical turnovers in the final seconds, resulting in multiple losses. Mr. Iguodala, with his outstanding defense, forced Warrior opponents into turnovers in the final seconds. That is the difference between winning and losing close games.

The NBA claims it glorifies the team over the individual, but it just ain’t so. After Mr. Iguodala acceded to his coach’s request to come off the bench, he all but disappeared from the NBA’s ‘star’ radar. This is Mr. Iguodala’ a greatest team achievement, and ironically may dissuade many from voting him into the Hall of Fame. While sportswriters say they most admire a ‘team player’, most of their ink, and their votes, go to those with individual accomplishments.

If sportswriters really do prefer team play over individual accomplishments, Mr. Iguodala will be elected to the HOF on the first ballot. But one of the great ironies in sports is that a team player is lauded, but individual statistics (even those gained at the team’s expense) is rewarded.