PROFILER: Meet Andre Iguodala

Andre Iguodala

Andre Tyler Iguodala born January 28, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The swingman was an NBA All-Star in 2012 and has been named to the NBA All-Defensive Team twice. Iguodala won an NBA championship with the Warriors in 2015, when he was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. Iguodala helped the Warriors return to the NBA Finals for a third straight year in 2017, winning his second NBA Championship. He was also a member of the United States national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and 2012 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal both times.

Iguodala went to Lanphier High School in Springfield, Illinois, before attending the University of Arizona. After completing two years, he declared for the 2004 NBA draft, where he was drafted as the ninth overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers. Iguodala played for Philadelphia until the summer of 2012, when he joined the Denver Nuggets in a four-team trade. He was acquired by Golden State in 2013. In 2014–15, he became a reserve for the first time in his career, but captured the Finals MVP after returning to the starting lineup in the middle of the finals series.

Iguodala was born in Springfield, Illinois. He is the son of Linda Shanklin. His older brother, Frank, played for Lake Land College in Mattoon, Illinois, and Dayton. His mother is African American, his father Nigerian. Growing up, Iguodala rooted for the Chicago Bulls, and he cites Michael Jordan as the player he looked up to.

Iguodala attended high school at Lanphier High School in Springfield, Illinois, a school that produced other notable athletes, including baseball Hall of Famer Robin Roberts and basketball guard Kevin Gamble. At Lanphier he did well academically and athletically; he won All-Conference academic honors, was on the National Honor Roll, was a State Journal Student-Athlete of the Week several times, and gained three letters in track for the high jump. As a senior in 2002, Iguodala led Lanphier's basketball team to a runner-up finish at the Illinois High School Association Class AA state tournament. That season, he averaged 23.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He was named Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year as well as a second team Parade All-American and Nike All-American. Iguodala was also a finalist for the Illinois Mr. Basketball award, which was awarded to Dee Brown. His Lanphier jersey is now retired.

During the summer of 2000, Iguodala captured the attention of coaches around the nation as he was named the AAU national tournament Most Valuable Player after hitting the game-winning shot at the final buzzer to give his team the 17-and-under national title. In 2002, he played in the Jordan Brand Classic in Washington, D.C. In 22 minutes of play, Iguodala put up six points on 3–6 shooting, five rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block. Iguodala played AAU basketball under Larry Butler and the Illinois Warriors, the team that has featured other professional players such as Dwyane Wade, Quentin Richardson, and Jon Scheyer.

Considered a four-star recruit by Scout.com, Iguodala was listed as the No. 6 small forward and the No. 26 player in the nation in 2002.

Iguodala initially signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Arkansas. He had narrowed down his list of desired schools to two: Kansas or Arkansas. Iguodala was enticed by Arkansas's 1–3 system, which would have allowed Iguodala to run the point occasionally. Iguodala visited the Arkansas campus and was impressed by their large gymnasium and the amount of fans at a practice while he visited with his mother and father. However, after their coach, Nolan Richardson, was fired that year (2002), Iguodala decided to attend Arizona instead. At Arizona he joined future NBA players Channing Frye, Luke Walton, Mustafa Shakur, Salim Stoudamire and Hassan Adams. One of the determining factors for Iguodala was the commitment of Hassan Adams, whom Iguodala had played with in the Jordan Brand Classic in high school. Many colleges regarded Iguodala as a track star turned basketball player but teammate Luke Walton said, "He is going to be one of the best players to ever come out of Arizona by the time he is done here". He was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshmen team for 2002–03. In his freshman year he quickly established himself as one of the best all-around players on the team, ranking in the top 5 for his team in just about every major category.

As a sophomore in 2003–04, Iguodala was named team MVP after leading his team in rebounds, assists and steals. He also made the All-Pac-10 First Team and was named Honorable Mention All-America by The Associated Press. He collected three triple-doubles that season, joining Jason Kidd as the only two players in Pac-10 history to post two or more triple-doubles in a season. During his career at Arizona, the Wildcats made it to the NCAA Tournament both seasons. In his freshman year the Wildcats were defeated in the Elite Eight by Kansas. In his sophomore year, Arizona was defeated in the first round by Seton Hall. After posting career totals of 594 points (9.6 ppg), 409 rebounds (6.6 rpg) and 95 steals (1.53 spg) in 62 games (34 starts) he left to enter the NBA draft. At Arizona, Iguodala planned to major in education. After the season, Iguodala signed with agent Rob Pelinka, co-founder of the Landmark Sports Agency, who had represented NBA All-Stars such as Kobe Bryant, Carlos Boozer and Gerald Wallace