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Season in Review: Andre Iguodala

By Jordan Sams

Andre had the type of season he should've had. He improved his passing and rebounding. His defense remained fantastic. His points and field goal percentage dropped due to a coaching change, system change, and point guard change. He's still a really good NBA player, who needs help. He doesn't have the superstar gene, and his team's front office has done him zero favors by surrounding him with minimal talent. He needs a miracle, a miracle named John Wall or Evan Turner. Once the superstar pressure is taken off Andre, he'll be deservingly appreciated by everyone, including Sixers fans. Unfortunately, that might never happen.

I don't know of an NBA player -- doubling as his team's best player -- who is criticized by his own fans more than Andre Iguodala. Here's a list of things people (including me) have criticized Iguodala for this season:

Whether he was fairly or unfairly criticized, there are a few facts about Andre Iguodala that are absolutely undeniable.

He's durable. During his 6 years in the league he's missed a grand total 6 games, playing through various injuries. And the man is in peak physical condition for a reason; he takes care of his body. 

He's an above average defender. Whether it's getting his hands on a pass in the first quarter, or shutting down the opposing team's best player on the final possession, Andre flat-out knows how to get it done on the defensive end. 

He's an above average rebounder. Andre's the best player on his team, the main option on offense, and always guards the other team's best player. Yet, he still manages to pull in the third highest percentage of defensive rebounds -- as a 6'6'' guard/forward.

He works hard. Beat writers claim he's always the first one in, and the last one to leave. Fans who attend home games claims he's out there working on his jump shot more than anyone else. When I went to an away game in Boston, Andre was the only Sixer working up a sweat before the game. And it shows. His game has improved tremendously since his rookie year, and I expect him to continue to improve.

He's a good basketball player. Defense, check. Rebounding, check. Durability, check. Court vision, check. Athleticism, check. He might not be the superstar we all want him to be, but make no mistake, Andre Iguodala is a top 40 NBA'r, at least.

The production Andre provided this season is what you can expect from him the rest of his tenure in Philadelphia. He might improve in some areas, and decline in others, but for the most part he's at/entering his peak. Write him down for 82 games of 17-6-6, good defense and nasty dunks for the next 4 years. 

3 stats

  1. Andre had a 9.4 WARP (Wins Above Replacement Player. Based on performance and playing time, the wins a player has created as compared to a replacement-level player seeing the same minutes).
  2. According to Hoop Data 47% of Andre's assists were at the rim. I did this comparison with Lou who had 48%, but here's the list: Jrue Holiday (38%), Andre Miller (41%), Steve Nash (45%), LeBron James (47%), and Chris Paul (36%). 47% is superb, especially for a non-point guard with 5+ assists.
  3. Andre shot 40% from the field and 27% from three in the fourth quarter this season.
3 improvements
  1. Free throw percentage ... 72.4% last year to 73.3% this year.
  2. Rebounds (+0.8), assists (+0.5), steals (+0.1), and blocks (+0.3). 
  3. Andre shot more jumpers this season (71%) than last season (64%), but improved his eFG% from .388 to .410.
3 regressions
  1. Free throws - 4.1/per 36 in 08-09 ... 2.8/per 36 in 09-10
  2. Points - 17.0/per 36 in 08-09 ... 15.8/per 36 in 09-10
  3. And1% - 3.2% in 08-09 ... 2.7% in 09-10
Grade: B+

 

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