Andre Iguodala, 4-time champion with the Warriors, retires after 19 NBA seasons: What’s next?

Andre Iguodala, a four-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, is retiring after 19 seasons in the league, he told multiple outlets Friday. Here’s what you need to know:

Iguodala, 39, told Andscape it’s “just the right time” for the change. “Time started to get limited for me and I didn’t want to put anything in the back seat. I didn’t want to have to try to delegate time anymore. Especially with on the court, off the court with family. A lot,” he said.
Iguodala retires as a former NBA Finals MVP (2015) and NBA All-Star (2012), averaging 11.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 1,231 career games.
The 39-year-old forward told DealBook that he will focus on his career as a start-up investor, running a $200 million venture capital fund, Mosaic, with business partner Rudy Cline-Thomas.

Iguodala’s legacy with Golden State

Iguodala will forever be known as a critical piece in the building of the Warriors dynasty. In the summer of 2013, after his Denver Nuggets lost to the up-and-coming Warriors, Iguodala was a free agent with multiple suitors. But he told then-Golden State general manager Bob Myers to find a way to get him. Iguodala saw the potential in the Warriors and how he could fit with his defense, athleticism and experience. Myers pulled off a trade and the Warriors had one of their pillars in place.

Before Iguodala, the Warriors had a tough time landing free agents. After Joe Lacob bought the Warriors, Golden State considered it a victory to get a meeting with Dwight Howard, which they couldn’t get with LeBron James in 2010. But Iguodala legitimized the Warriors by choosing them. The Warriors — who had reached the playoffs for the first time in six years in 2013 — went to six consecutive playoffs with Iguodala in tow and the Warriors grew into a destination franchise. Three years after Iguodala, Kevin Durant joined the Warriors. Along with Davis West and DeMarcus Cousins. Andrew Wiggins was traded to the Warriors which changed the trajectory of his career. Chris Paul is the latest star player to find himself in a Warriors uniform and loving it.

That all began with Iguodala. — Marcus Thompson II, Bay Area senior columnist

Strength in numbers

When Steve Kerr was hired in 2014, Iguodala was the starting small forward with Harrison Barnes coming off the bench. One of Kerr’s first big moves was convincing Iguodala to come off the bench, mostly to maximize Barnes. Iguodala, who had started every game of his career to that point, didn’t like the move but acquiesced. In doing so, he became the embodiment of the Warriors’ mantra, “Strength in Numbers,” as Kerr emphasized the depth of the Warriors. Golden State played multiple styles, starting as traditionally big and often going small.

The Warriors went on to win their first championship since 1975 in Kerr’s first season. It was punctuated with a lineup adjustment in Game 4 of the Finals. After coming off the bench all season, Iguodala returned to the starting lineup. The adjustment was enough to come back from a 2-1 series deficit and beat the Cleveland Cavaliers. Iguodala was named Finals MVP after three games of punishing the Cavaliers for doubling Stephen Curry.

His willingness to come off the bench and alter his game stamped him as one of the franchise’s great leaders and an essential piece of the Warriors culture that would become magnetic. — Thompson

What’s next for Iguodala?

Iguodala has become one of the most prominent investors in professional sports, leading a vanguard of athletes into venture capital and using their wealth and access to get into companies early and access deal flow. In retirement, Iguodala told DealBook that he’ll run Mosaic. Iguodala is already an investor in Zoom, Leeds FC, Bay Area FC and a TGL team, according to the New York Times, and Mosaic has invested in a prominent NFL player agency, among other companies. — Mike Vorkunov, NBA and basketball business writer

What Iguodala said

“You want to play at a high level. But then family is a lot,” Iguodala told Andscape. “My son is 16 and then two girls. So, (I’m) looking forward to seeing them grow up in those important years.”

Backstory

Iguodala announced last September that he would return for his 19th and final NBA season after hinting that he spent much of that summer leaning toward retirement. However, a strong push from Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Kerr and Myers lured him back before his official retirement.

A former star at the University of Arizona and the No. 9 pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, Iguodala played for the Philadelphia 76ers, the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat, in addition to the Warriors.

He won a gold medal with Team USA at the London Games and won a world championship with USA Basketball in 2012.