Iguodala: LeBron's Warriors Interest Honors Curry
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- Andre Iguodala told ESPN at a Las Vegas NBPA press conference that LeBron James' interest in the Warriors reflects how great Stephen Curry is, saying: 'People who never thought of playing in the NBA are trying to get there now because of him.'
- LeBron James, 41, is weighing Golden State as a free agent — a scenario Iguodala compared to Kevin Durant's 2016 decision to join the 73-win Warriors months after Cleveland blew a 3-1 Finals lead to them.
- Stephen Curry averaged 26.6 points, 4.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds this past season and made the All-Star team, while the Warriors went 37-45 and failed to escape the play-in tournament.
- Iguodala cautioned that the narrative — that James joining Golden State would enhance Curry's legacy — could itself alter James' decision if it leaks before he commits, calling it 'a great moment for the game.'
- David Kelly, the Warriors' former chief legal officer, is succeeding Iguodala as NBPA executive director at the same event where Iguodala made his comments.
- Iguodala called James 'the smartest basketball player I've ever seen' and cited their shared gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics — won alongside Kevin Durant — as evidence that a James-Curry pairing could work.
Why it matters: Iguodala — the 2015 Finals MVP who beat James on Golden State's behalf — is publicly endorsing a LeBron-to-Warriors scenario as a Curry legacy-defining moment, a striking reversal given the 37-45 Warriors' recent play-in exit and Curry's still-elite All-Star production.
