Four-time NBA champion addresses retirement decision

Although it was widely reported he would retire at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season, Andre Iguodala remains noncommittal on his retirement. On a recent episode of J.J. Redick‘s "Old Man and the Three" podcast, Iguodala continued to be 50-50 on whether he would play in the NBA this season.

“We recorded my decision, but I might come back and hoop … or I might go home,” Iguodala said.

Iguodala, 39, is a four-time NBA champion with the Warriors and won the 2014-15 Finals MVP. Through his 19 seasons in the league, Iguodala holds career averages of 11.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

His most productive on-court seasons came with the Sixers and Nuggets, but he quickly became a staple on Golden State’s championship teams after arriving in 2013-14. Iguodala spent six consecutive seasons with the Warriors from 2013-19 before being traded to the Grizzlies and then the Heat. After playing in 84 games with the Heat, Iguodala signed back with the Warriors ahead of 2021-22 and has played 39 games with the team in the past two years.

For what it’s worth, it sounded like general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. didn’t expect Iguodala to be back this season, although he wasn’t ruling out the possibility as of August.

“We’re not going to close the door on anything,” Dunleavy said in August. “But my guess, and my belief, is that he won’t be back.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

• While Iguodala was a massive part of Golden State’s championship teams, he doesn’t think he deserves to be enshrined in Springfield, he admitted on the "Old Man and the Three" podcast. “I’m not a ‘ring culture’ guy, but I’ve benefitted from that,” Iguodala said. “I know I have a lot of flaws. And I think there should be tiers of the Hall of Fame. … I’m not a Hall of Famer, if you ask me. No, no, no. Those guys [Hall of Famers] had no flaws.“
• While four of the five starting positions for the Clippers appear to be filled, there still remains a hole at the starting power forward spot, opines Law Murray of The Athletic. Murray explores the team’s depth chart and goes through multiple possible options for the starting position, including Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington and outside options like Kobe Brown and Kenyon Martin Jr. Ultimately, Murray expects the team to make an outside addition via trade at some point during the season.
• The Suns are one of 10 NBA teams who have yet to win an NBA championship. However, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic believes this season provides one of the franchise’s best opportunities to change that. Rankin lists five reasons why the Suns can win the NBA Finals this year, including their newly developed big three, their defensive-minded coach and their chemistry.