Andre Iguodala made a pretty interesting observation on Thursday about the NBA pecking order during the 2016 NBA Playoffs. As we all know the Warriors lost in 7 games in the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers and defeated his new teammate Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder in 7 games in the western conference finals.
Iguodala didn’t think the best team won the NBA title in 2016, but his answer of who should have one the title is not what you would think…
Andre Iguodala on the OKC Thunder: "They were the best team in the playoffs. They should have won a championship." https://t.co/mj1bjQP6Pl
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) July 14, 2016
Iguodala said in a radio interview Thursday that the Thunder were better than the Warriors and should have won the championship last season.
This comment is so many things in one. It is refreshingly honest. I believe that is what Iguodala truly thinks, and it is rare for a player to admit that a team that his team defeated in the postseason should have won a title. It is also some very hidden and well-placed shade at the Cavaliers, the team that did actually defeat Iguodala’s Warriors in the NBA Finals. The implication is that the Thunder and presumably the Warriors were actually better than the champion Cavaliers. Although I doubt they mind too much as they celebrate their championship victory…
It is also salt in the wound of Thunder fans who are enduring the summer from hell as their savior bolted for their biggest competitor and now their other superstar could be dealt before the season. Hearing Iguodala say that the Thunder was the best team he played in the postseason and the best team overall makes their 3-1 collapse in the western conference finals and Kevin Durant’s resulting free agency decision sting even worse.
The statement is an obvious compliment to Iguodala’s newest superstar teammate Kevin Durant but is also an interesting thing to admit given the unique circumstances between the two teams this summer.
