Two seasons after leaving, veteran Andre Iguodala has agreed to come back to the Golden State Warriors, his representative, Brandon Rosenthal of Landmark Sports, affirmed to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday.
The 37-year-old swingman spent through six seasons with the Warriors (2013-2019) – winning three NBA titles – preceding spending the past two seasons as an individual from the Miami Heat, who last week declined a $15 million group alternative for next season.
Iguodala averaged simply 4.4 focuses in 21.3 minutes more than 63 games last season, yet he will give a significant leadership role in the group he helped push to three NBA titles during his tenure.
“Who would have thought I’d have the opportunity to go back to the place where I was able to have, whatever you want to call it, legacy years, in terms of the accomplishments, winning multiple championships, the relationships that I was able to build with some of my closest friends and teammates?” Iguodala told the New York Times on Friday.
“The relationship with the fans, the relationship with the Bay, the opportunity to end it here, was just something special.”
Iguodala, who was Finals MVP in 2015, stays perhaps the most regarded veterans in the game, and his relationships inside the Warriors’ storage space, explicitly with star guard Stephen Curry, will make for a simple change back to his old team.
Iguodala has been generally lauded for his b-ball IQ throughout the long term, with Warriors mentor Steve Kerr more than once saying that Iguodala is probably the most intelligent player he has ever coached.
Entering his eighteenth NBA season, Iguodala has drawn Hall of Fame acclaim from Kerr lately and will give the sort of strong, veteran wing the Warriors were missing on occasion all through a 2020-21 mission wherein they neglected to make the postseason subsequent to losing to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies in the debut play-in tournament.
Iguodala won NBA titles with the Warriors in 2015, 2017 and 2018. The 17-year veteran has career averages of 11.6 focuses, 5.0 bounce back and 4.2 helps.
Iguodala said he considered retirement after last season, yet went to the realization that he “got some more time left.”
“Where I’m comfortable at is I can decide when I’m ready to go,” Iguodala told the Times. “I think I want to leave with just a little bit left. I don’t want to go out on one leg. I know I’ve got a few more years. It’s just my decision whether it’s one or two or three or whatever it may be. I shouldn’t even say three. One or two.”
The Warriors on Friday likewise made authority their free agent signing of forward Nemanja Bjelica to the class least. Saying “this is the best fit for me right now,” the Serbian big man will earn $2,089,448.
He averaged 6.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists playing 16.1 minutes over 37 games with three beginnings among Sacramento and Miami last season.
Recently, the Warriors and Stephen Curry agreed on a $215 million, four-year contract expansion that takes him through the 2025-26 season, when he will be 38.
Brilliant State additionally has consented to exchange power forward Eric Paschall to the Jazz for a 2026 ensured second-round draft pick by means of Memphis. It was the Grizzlies who finished the Warriors’ season in the play-in competition.