Andre Iguodala was a vital contributor to the Warriors’ title run during the 2014-15 NBA season — particularly in the NBA Finals against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After coming off the bench the entire season, Iguodala started the last three games of the series — all Golden State wins — en route to winning Finals MVP.

But on a recent episode of the “Roommates Show” podcast with Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, Iguodala offered a surprising answer when asked what winning that award meant to him.

“Honestly, nothing,” Iguodala said, to the surprise of Hart and Brunson. “… I understand what it means, you know what I’m saying? But I just knew my value might not be understood to the outsiders. … Every team has to have that one guy who — and I don’t even know how to say it — but you have to sacrifice for the greater good of the team. But everybody else is going to get their s–t off and get paid.

“You know how crazy that is? Like, I got to go negotiate with someone who is looking at my numbers, and they may not understand my value to the team. And the coach knows that. I’m like, ‘Yo, Coach, you’re telling me to sacrifice for the greater good, but then when I go in negotiations, they’re going to be like, “Man, you averaged seven points. I can replace that easy.”‘ Because they might not understand the dynamic because they didn’t play.

“And so, more than anything, that was probably what meant the most, you know, that I sacrificed for the greater good. I never thought I was going to win a Finals MVP, because I’m coming off the bench and I’m doing the sacrifices, so my numbers are never going to show.”

During the 2014-15 NBA regular season, Iguodala put up just 7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, placing fourth in NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting.

But in six games during the NBA Finals, Iguodala averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals across 37.0 minutes — still a stat line most wouldn’t assume to have earned a Finals MVP. After all, by comparison, Steph Curry averaged 26.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.8 steals in 42.5 minutes per game in the same span.

However, Iguodala was rewarded for his contributions to the Warriors’ success that didn’t show up on the stat sheet.

The longtime Warriors star, whose No. 9 was retired by Golden State last year at Chase Center, also revealed some interesting context about his personal experience throughout that 2014-15 season, leading up to winning Finals MVP.

“And so for that to happen, it was like, wow, I thought about asking for a trade two or three times that year,” Iguodala explained. “Like, nobody knows that part. Steve [Kerr] basically was like, ‘Hey, we’re a better team with you coming off the bench.’ I had an incredible preseason; that’s what I remember. My body finally got healthy again. I was hurt off and on for two years. You know, year 10, year 11, so your body is different. You react different.

“I had a great preseason. I thought I was the second-best player on the team. That’s how good my preseason was, and [Kerr] was like, ‘Come off the bench.’ I’m like, wait, what? And then the whole season, I can’t find a rhythm, because I’ve never come off the bench. It’s a different rhythm.

“… I was struggling the whole year, and I never felt comfortable until like the third round of the playoffs — from the whole season. And then it just happened the way it’s supposed to happen. Whatever people believe in, now it’s like, oh, damn, God got certain things waiting on you. You just got to have faith that it will work out.”

It certainly did work out for Iguodala, whose efforts in that series forever will be a part of Warriors lore. It also helped inspire younger players to make similar sacrifices for their teams, including Hart, who mentioned how important it was to see Iguodala rewarded in that way.

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