Andre Iguodala: “without Stephen Curry, nobody’s jersey is going into the rafters”

[video/transcript]

The following is a Zoom call that Andre Iguodala took with local Golden State Warriors media on Tuesday, January 7 before the Miami Heat game, in regards to his jersey retirement.

Iguodala’s jersey will be retired on Sunday, February 23, 2025, postgame after the Dallas Mavericks game. The video is clickable above and the transcript of it is below…

00:00 Hey, Andre, take us back to 2013 when you were available to, well, you decided to come to the Warriors. We kind of know the story. We know you could have gotten more money elsewhere. What attracted you to the Warriors?

00:16 ANDRE IGUODALA: I think I've spoken to this a few times. I just played against the Warriors in the playoffs and when you play in the playoffs, you get to know a team very well, everything about them and I think what you find is, what I was able to observe is the joy they had playing for Mark Jackson. And that was year nine for me. Yeah, that was my ninth season I just finished. And so going into 10th year free agency and you don't know when the end is gonna be, especially 10 years, the average is like 3.5 now. And so for me, it was just like, I want to get that joy back of playing basketball. I'd just come off a great series. I enjoy the atmosphere in the arena. Like, as an opponent, you enjoy the atmosphere of an opposing team, like, that speaks volumes. Obviously, I had been doing some stuff in the tech space, as well. So the area was attractive to me and so it was, like, perfect timing. And then we saw what Steph did. He and I spent a little bit of time together three years prior, in the World Championships and then I got to play against Klay a lot in that series. We matched up. He was a young pup. So I beat him up a little bit, but I knew like, "Oh, he's right there." So it was a — all of those things came into play. And it was just perfect timing, like I said, on and off the court, but the atmosphere, I'd just played in that playoff series. I decided to, be there 41 times a year.

01:55 Andre, what's up? It's Anthony Slater. Just kind of going along those lines. I mean, you mentioned that your year 9, 10 when you joined the Warriors, almost sounds like you were maybe thinking it was that later stage of the career. Can you believe that that materialized into four championships, retired jersey, all that, and what came after it?

02:14 Yeah, you — I remember my — I remember the press conference like it was yesterday. I remember what I had on. I remember the questions. I remember the responses and I'm more like second-tier free agency. We waited on Dwight Howard. And so I'm not thinking it's gonna be headline news from the press conference nationally, maybe just locally. But I remember one of the answers. I said you are not that far away, just seeing what I saw, took the Spurs to six games and were all close games. Steph was coming into his own and I said — I used the word "championships" and I'd never been outside the second round, neither had the Warriors since the 70s or however long it had been. And we're fresh off that, "Not one, not two, not three." So you're careful with how you're speaking towards it. And so I didn't know because I'd never been there, but I don't know, I don't speak too far out like that with those lofty goals. It was just, I don't know, intuition playing basketball for quite some time. And I didn't think it would be four. I didn't think it would be retirement. And so it was just, I guess, like, the stars was just aligned from what I said and what actually happened.

03:34 What does the retirement mean to you?

03:37 It's funny cause I haven't — I was just with Zaza Pachulia, who sits on the Board, the Warriors' Board and we had an amazing conversation and he was asking me how I felt about it. And I was like, "Zaza, I don't know. I haven't even had a chance to think about it." He's like, "What do you mean?" I was like, "You know me, like, all right, you accomplished the championship. You celebrate for a little bit and it was, like, what's next? And it's gotten — we've had so much success, we haven't been able to properly, like, bask in that success. We haven't been able to enjoy it because now we're on to like bigger and better things — not better — we're on to, like, what's next in our careers. And it's not bigger and better 'cause that's the biggest and the best, but what I'm doing right now, I got two full-time jobs. I got a 17-year-old taller than me. He's trying to get there. Like, I'm just spread so thin that I haven't been able to, like, properly reflect. And so, but what I've been doing on the side, what the Warriors team has set up, is that they done something really special and it's just going, I think it's gonna blow folks out of the water. Like this thing is — and then it kind of helped me reflect. I'm, like, "Oh," just talking through it, still not properly like I would like to. But I think it speaks to the level that Joe (Lacob) and Peter (Guber). They want to continue to create this amazing space for athletes to play at the highest level and properly be praised for their work and success well within organizations. So I'm still trying to figure out that answer, like I said, I just came from a meeting. I'm headed to another meeting or — TGL tonight. So I own part of one of the teams and we're getting ready for Opening Night. So my mind's there.

05:30 Morning, Andre. It's Janie McCauley from Associated Press. Thanks for doing this and congratulations.

05:37 Thank you.

05:37 Yeah, how much, when you look back and reflect, how much pride do you take in all the different roles you had and from defensive stopper to starting to Sixth Man, to being such a mentor later in your career for some of this game's greatest stars now, and just how you were able to do a little bit of everything and help in so many ways.

06:08 Yeah, and thank you for that. Those — a lot of those things go unnoticed. So it kinda go back to Anthony's question in terms of like, how do we get here? I think the level of basketball IQ and knowledge from the fan base, I think, probably more than anything, if I'm being completely honest, the fans probably played the biggest role in this. I think they've voiced their appreciation of me. And I think the barrier is innovative and they understand, like, you need everything to be functioning at a high level to be successful and to have longevity and to be able to scale. And so those are probably the — that's when I'm able to appreciate everything that we've been able to accomplish, is in public. It's — right now I got my head down and I'm working, but anywhere I go in the Bay, like, I can go grab some pancakes or people are surprised that I might go to buy a jacket at Paligoni or anything, like, I'm moving around like a regular person, but I can constantly get stopped by folks and they say, "You really helped me raise my children in terms of, like, bringing a proper approach to whatever it is that you do, respecting what you do, doing it at a high level." Teamwork, discipline. sacrifice is probably the biggest thing that they use in regards to me. But sometimes less is more, but knowing when to be ready for the big moments. And a lot of that is really good vets, which you can take for granted if you don't understand how professional sports can work, because you're not just competing against the other team. Sometimes you compete against your own team. We see coaches get fired all the time. It just happened in football this past weekend. Obviously, we know about the Mike Brown situation, but I had really good vets and they helped me see early on that if you don't have the right guidance, it can derail your career. So, like, the Aaron McKie's, Kevin Ollie's. One thing that was good for me being a late bloomer, that appreciation being in the NBA, 'cause I didn't know that I would make it. And so I follow guys that were around a lot who weren't the most talented. They were doing something right. And those guys did all the little things right. So it just helped me get the right foundation and have a proper understanding for those small things get you over the edge or ask the more talented folks.

08:49 And does that mean a great deal to you, Andre, when maybe every day or whenever you're out and about, you do get stopped? You said how a lot of these things do go unnoticed, but maybe fans did notice you doing all the little things and that has to mean a lot to you, being retired and people thanking you for influencing how they're raising their children.

09:12 Yeah. I get asked to come back a lot, which throws me off. 'Cause like I said, I'm in go-mode right now. So, like, I'm full steam ahead. And so I'm approaching everything like I did on the court. So my mind's not even in like, I'm not even thinking I'm Andre Iguodala the basketball player. So it kinda — when I get stopped, I'm used to getting stopped a lot. But now it throws me off because I'm, like, I don't play basketball anymore. Like, I'm just a normal venture capitalist and I run the Players Association. So I got work to do. So I — it throws me off. So those are interactions sometimes and it's — I don't mean it to come off that way — it's just where my mind is. But after so long, you know who's who. You can see a good fan versus a bad fan from a mile away. And so I'm able to see, like, "Okay, this is a decent human being. And this is a genuine interaction." And I think the Bay, the folks that I'm running into in the Bay are of high value and morals. And so they're all 99 percent are really good interactions. You walk away feeling a little bit better about yourself, actually, because you realize it's bigger than you. And that's — I take that with my work every day at the Players Association where I'm trying to get the guys to understand, like, it's actually bigger than us, you know? And why do we want equity stake in the game, is because we're actually paving the way for the next group. And we have this duty and responsibility to the game. And if we don't, then the game will never be able to help to the standards that the Michael Jordans, the Kobe Bryants, the Oscar Robinsons, Jerry West, going on and on and on, LeBrons, Stephs have been able to do, so we gotta continue that trend. But that's what gets me in that mind, is the interactions that I'm having with how we're actually changing lives.

11:07 Thank you. What's it — I mean, you're probably the first of five of these, right? I mean, is it interesting to you or cool to you? I mean, like, you're basically gonna have your whole lineup from the dynasty probably retired over the course of, whatever, the next decade or so.

11:26 I'm just the oldest. So it's — Mark Jackson's favorite line was, "Father Time is undefeated." And so it worked to my benefit in terms of being the first one. but just preparing myself for interviews and properly being ready february 23rd. I think I've been able to reflect on those guys without those guys, I wouldn't be in this position, like, I think they understand how important that was. But obviously Steph playing with Draymond, just being so unique in who they are, it's just a powerful formula. It'd be really hard to duplicate. You've seen everyone's trying to duplicate it now and it's kind of throwing basketball off because they're one-of-ones, all of them. And then obviously, KD is just from another planet, like, just the beauty in him as a human being and the stature and what he does with the basketball is an incredible thing too. So yeah, yeah, really excited to share the moment with those guys.

12:44 I know you were at the Klay return game and I believe your jersey retirement is a Mavericks game. I'm just curious how you're just viewing this kind of later stage as you're watching it from afar from an interesting position, obviously, with the PA and just seeing Klay in a Mavericks jersey, seeing what stage Steph and this Warriors team's at, what's kind of your perspective on all that?

13:10 Well, I was thinking about that earlier in terms of people don't understand how hard it is to have success. People don't understand how hard it is to get to the NBA, period. Like, I think Raymond (Ridder) spoke to it. Like, how many guys played in the NBA, period, like, ever? And then how many guys go to the playoffs? And how many guys get to the second round? That whole thing. And then how many win one? And then you're lucky to win one. Gotta get lucky to win two. And so to win four and we — it was for so long because we got there five times in a row. When you grew up in that — because a lot of them are new basketball fans as well, we had a lot of folks where this was their introduction to basketball. It's like the Vince Carter effect in Canada and we had a similar effect on folks as well. So no one's seen the realities of professional sports, like, this isn't normal. And so I look at it from that perspective because I came from the other end of the spectrum where winning wasn't a priority to an organization that I had been a part of, prior to. And I still was able to make an All-Star team, play in the Olympics, and so I seen the good, the bad, and ugly with the league. But you can have the best-run organization and still not win. But wheen sometimes perception can become people's realities, but their realities aren't real. And so you can't win a championship every single year. And, like, I just said this, Mark Jackson's favorite line was, "Father Time is undefeated." Everything must come to an end. And you gotta get lucky, too. And I'm not saying that to say that they're at their end, but at some point it will be there. But just continue to enjoy the game, that's my main thing. Like, enjoy the game and be a true fan in the ups and the downs and the in-betweens. Folks are trying to figure it out because at the end of the day, like, everyone wants to win. I know Steph wants to win. I know Klay wants to win. I know Draymond wants to win. Steve wants to win. And as much as much as, people try to pinpoint me disagreeing with Joe, Joe wants to win more than anybody. And I think that's what — things like that put you over the top, 'cause you got some owners who — we see shell of a team after they just won a championship, you know? So when you put things in proper perspective, like, we got a great group. We've had a great group. And Joe is a part of that group and he wants to win. So when you got someone who has, like, he's hungry to win, you gotta put that in proper perspective as well.

16:10 All right. I told Andre wouldn't keep him too long. We got two more, quickly.

16:14 I got one and it could be my last one. You were at the Klay, as I said, the Klay return night. I was just — what was that night like? And as you look forward to your jersey retirement, like, are you ready? I know you were mentioning you're so busy, but did it feel like a celebration, the Klay return night and are you ready to have, like, nine of these basically over the next decade?

16:39 Oh, the Klay thing was incredible. And, like, I'm understanding business and understand how foundations work and understand how goodwill works, public perception. I understand how all that works. And things can be for show, but I mean, when I saw that, I was — I wasn't blown away, but I was. I was blown away because they just went over the top with it. They did a phenomenal job. And I think Joe, Peter, the entire group, they understand how special this was and they want to get proper respects to it and they don't have to. And the fans, we all owe it to the fans, not just ownership, but the players as well. And you see — I don't know if I should say this, but I mean, it's there. You see it in plain sight. I didn't see this coming. I didn't know it was coming, but the Warriors play Dallas. And that was a beautiful thing and it's gonna be duplicated by smart ownership groups on how to properly pay respects to players who have placed a stamp on the franchise. I think Mark (Cuban) did it with Dirk. But when you see the hiring of Rick Welts by Dallas, like, I did not see that coming. But I also see, like, teams following models that are working, on and off the court. So I just thought that it was beautiful. It speaks volumes to — all the players feel like that about Klay. I know it's tough negotiations. I know it's tough trades and all the NBA's forward-leading on social media. So all the noise and nonsense that's thrown in-between that can — sometimes business can become personal, but at the end of the day, we did some special things and back in the old days, they say they can never take it from us. I think as players, we're more forward-thinking with what we want to do after, but all of those things that we accomplished become a part of our DNA and an it becomes a standard in how we show up in whatever we do, going forward,

19:03 Dre, when you first came to the Warriors, really, when you first came to the league, rather, nobody was looking at the Warriors. Here you are, a few years into the league now, you make this decision not just to come to the Warriors, but again, to come to the Warriors when you could have gone someplace else. Do you think the league, the guys that were in the league, kind of noticed that kind of thing, that kind of move?

19:24 Well, I was the first one to — I'll take this one. I don't try — I never want to gloat, like, I can properly can assess my career, so I don't need validation, but I'm taking this one. I think I was the first one to realize how I can extend my career playing with Steph Curry, so that and just — that just became, like, now people are realizing when you have a special talent, you might be able to take Donte DiVincenzo. Like, we used him as our latest example. But, like either you're resurrecting the career — for me, I wouldn't say resurrecting, but kind of extending. Or free agency period may not be the right one for you. You might be delayed a year or two. And how you can go play with a player like Steph, a generational talent and win and learn how to win? And then all parties understand that, like, we've never seen that before where players are like, "All right, I'ma take less now, understanding, like, what's ahead of me if I just go in, a little bit of sacrifice and doing what I gotta do, lock in and learn how to win and then, boom, and you get a nice payday. I think that's what I can take — I'll take from it and he's the one that we all have to appreciate. I can be honest and I don't wanna make hate-making headlines, some people take it out of position. Like, Kevin Durant is the most talented basketball player I've ever seen. Like, I'm including Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan is the best, but talking about talent, Kevin Durant is him. So nobody's better than Kevin Durant. But without Stephen Curry, nobody's jersey is going in the rafters. And so like, for me, I just, just paying proper respects. But for me, it's — I did my part. And I showed up every day to my best ability to support that. And if everyone doesn't come the way they should, none of us are there as well. But just who he stands for, how special he is, we gotta look to that more, so our youth can understand the importance of what sports are really about. We've gotten so selfish about it. And so we need more models like Steph and other guys, as well, because we understand him and we understand our roles and how to make the whole thing work.

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