LeBron James vs Andre Iguodala meet in the NBA Finals for the fifth time
Along NBA history there are just a few players who can win a championship, while some of the great ones never get to celebrate. Players like Karl Malone, Charles Barkley or Patrick Ewing will be able to confirm.
Even making it to the NBA Finals is a complicated task, as competition is fierce year after year, and at the end of the day, it’s only two teams out of 30, the ones who can make it this far and be able to fight directly for a ring. But there are some players that take greatness and consistency to the next level, and that end up making complicated things feel ordinary, and this is the case of two players that will meet in this NBA Finals, again, for the fifth time, LeBron James and Andre Iguodala.
LeBron James has spent over half of his career in the NBA Finals
So, let’s make this very clear, because numbers don’t lie. LeBron James has made it to the NBA finals in 58% of his seasons in the NBA. Out of 17 seasons, he has made the finals in 10 of them, 10 of the last 13, or 9 out of the last 10 seasons, we have seen LeBron fighting for a championship.
Out of the past decade, the only time King James didn’t make the finals was last season, his first as a Laker, because after getting injured mid-season, the team failed to even get to the playoffs. Other than that, LeBron made it to the finals from 2011 to 2014 with the Miami Heat, then 2015 to 2018 with the Cavaliers, and now in 2020 with the Lakers. Let’s not forget that he also got to the finals as a young player, leading the Cavaliers to the finals against the Spurs back in 2007.
As we all know, out of his past 9 Finals appearances, he has won 3 rings, and now he has a good chance to go for his fourth, along with Anthony Davis and a very solid Lakers team led by Frank Vogel and assisted by Jason Kidd.
Andre Iguodala and being in the right place at the right time
Nobody questions the fact that Iguodala is a great player and that he has contributed his part for his NBA Finals appearances. However, let’s not forget that in his past five Finals he was part of what has been called NBA’s best team ever, the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. Iguodala won 3 rings with the Warriors, all over LeBron James’ Cavs. Out of the other two Finals, the Cavaliers won one, in 2016, and the Raptors won the other one, last year.
Iguodala is an NBA veteran, so the Warriors let him go during the offseason to make space for new talent. The Miami Heat picked him up and the rest of the story you already know it. It’s clear that Iguodala is not a leader in the team, but he has had his minutes, made his contributions and above all, he has lots of playoffs and Finals experience that can be of great use for Heat players like Jimmy Butler, Adebayo and young talent like Herro or Duncan. This will be Iguodala’s 6th NBA Finals, and his 5th against LeBron James.
What do you think will happen this time?