In this episode of The Draymond Green Show, host Draymond Green probes Andre Iguodala about his Hall of Fame candidacy and why many fans and journalists underestimate his value. Iguodala explains that the criticism stems from a lack of understanding of basketball IQ and the nuanced impact he brings on the court, especially his defensive instincts and positioning when guarding elite players like LeBron James. He reflects on his own assessment, noting that while he believes he could surpass some current Hall of Famers, there are also players outside the Hall who are better than him. The conversation shifts to Iguodala’s relationship with teammates such as Steph Curry and Bam Adebayo, highlighting how playing alongside them simplifies the game for him. Finally, Iguodala emphasizes the broader, off‑court influence of their generation, stressing the importance of their role models for Black youth and the evolving legacy of modern NBA players.
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But lastly, what I want to ask you, and I think this one, this question is really near and dear to me because as someone who's had the opportunity to play with, share the court with you for 7 years now, this is year 7, I think, 6 or 7. I know, and then also sharing the court with Bam Adebayo this summer, the one thing he said and the one thing we both obviously agree on is, Playing with Andre, it just makes the game easier, right? Like it makes the game easier for you in understanding your impact and what you bring to the game. And now you start to talk about the All-Star appearances, the championships, Finals MVP, defensive teams, all these things. It bothers me when people don't say you're a lock for a Hall of Famer. Like that bothers me. And I don't understand. I understand it. Because what I understand is that people don't understand the game of basketball.
Right.
And so I understand it from that perspective of like, y'all don't really understand the game of basketball. So you technically don't know what you're watching. But it bothers me when people don't say Andre Iguodala is a lock for the Hall of Fame because, you know, we see a lot of guys who can jump out the gym. Being one of those guys, obviously not as jumping as high as you are. Who's jumping that high at your age and all the miles that you have on your body, but you still get up higher than most guys. And for most guys, that's a hindrance. Like you see guys that can jump and they dumber than a bag of rocks. Like they don't really understand the game of basketball 'cause they've just ran somewhere and jumped all their life. And whereas you happen to be, One of the smartest guys in the league jumping like that is so rare. Does it bother you like it bothered me when people not saying you a lock for the Hall of Fame?
I don't think so. 'Cause like, I think I said it a couple of times. It's like, I really couldn't see how good, like, I couldn't see how good Steph was when I was playing with him. Like, I know how good you were because we kind of in the same lane as like, we know how good we are at what we do. And we know it's very high level. Well, what Steph does is like, it's loud and you see it. But he's so focused on trying to get to like, what's next. Like we're like proactive players where we gonna get there before you do.
Yeah.
So it's like one thing with Wiggs, I'm like, Wiggs, like he's been really good defensively this year. And he, this is when I knew I would, this is when I knew I was kind of good. Like I never liked saying I'm good. Like I'm nice. But this one I knew like I was doing things the right way. When Wiggs was like, "Yo, what are some things you like to do when you guard LeBron?" I was like, "Whoa." I'm like, "Bro, you've got way more ability than me." But then I had to like, "Ah, okay, okay, this is a good thing." And then I give him some pointers. I'm like, "Yo, it's really not about stopping him 'cause you can't. It's just about beating him to the spot before he gets there." And that starts when— Yeah. Steph shoots. So as soon as Steph shot the ball, I would be looking for LeBron like, "All right, where's he at? And what point of attack will he be taking the ball out of bounds?" That's the first thing that went off on my mind. So for me, it was just like, I wasn't really able to see things like, you know, how good Steph was, you know? So I couldn't like really appreciate. So that goes back to like, you know, I'm upset about how people see the game. Like, as you know, we like, we identify, the journalists who know the game and who don't. And not even journalists, just people in general. And we realize most don't know the game that well because, you know.
Absolutely.
So then it doesn't bother me. And then I always say, like I talked about the top 75 list, I always say like, there's guys in the Hall of Fame that I feel like, I think I'm better than him. And I'm not trying to be cocky. Like I think I'm better than that guy. He's in the Hall of Fame. But there are guys who are not in the Hall of Fame that are better than me.
Yeah.
And that says a lot. And I'm just like, "Hey man, it just is what it is. You just, if it comes, it comes. If it doesn't, it doesn't." And like I said before, like the impact our generation of basketball players are gonna have, or it just gets bigger and bigger through each generation, which shows that there is, you know, there's maturity. It shows evolution. We're becoming better as humans. Like the things we're doing off the court are gonna have a much bigger impact for not just basketball players, but just, you know, Black kids in general. And I think that's what we should be most proud about. And like, that really goes back to, like, you having a conversation with Bob yesterday. I'm like, bro, like, the impact that we have outside the game is just crazy.
