Although some fans around the NBA might not fully remember, Andre Iguodala was undoubtedly one of the biggest reasons the Warriors were able to win four NBA titles from 2015 to 2022.
While winning a championship is something that every NBA player dreams of, and many don’t even come close to doing, the 2015 NBA Finals MVP revealed that eventually the luster of winning it all wears off. When appearing on the “Roommates Show” podcast with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart of the New York Knicks, Iguodala revealed that the team didn’t even celebrate their 2018 championship and 4-0 sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“The more you learn about the business, you learn about how the schedule set up, you learn about how the T.V. games are set up,” Iguodala said in reference into how his perspective changed. “You learning about like ‘Why are we traveling 2,000 more miles than another team?’ You learn about the circus. Like we’re in the circus, the ESPN, the Turner (TNT) back then, all those schedules were based around the Warriors.
“And then you start overthinking things, and now the love for the business changes…It skews how you approach the game. That’s a scary feeling because it can take away some joy, so when you win it you like ‘Alright, we did we supposed to do.’ The last championship we didn’t even celebrate, 18′. Like, we won the championship it was like ‘We going to Vegas? Nah f–k that we not going, I’ll see y’all in a couple months.’ “
Iguodala later explained that it was “strange” how the excitement of being on top faded, and that the team began focusing on each other’s stats to ensure that everyone was happy.
Although it wasn’t mentioned, this was also around the time that Kevin Durant’s stay with the team began to sour, so it wouldn’t be shocking if that played a role in the team not feeling as chummy.
Iguodala certainly didn’t have the euphoric energy about winning that the fans do, but at the end of the day, it’s a job and a business. However, it turns out the more successful you are, the less fun you have.
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