76ers fans who tuned in to watch the NBA Finals last night likely had flashbacks of Andre Iguodala's days in Philadelphia. Dre hit some really big shots you didn't really think he should be taking, he threw down some nasty high-flying dunks, he missed some free throws, and he played really good defense.
I know it's weird to say Iguodala played very good defense when LeBron James finished the night with 44 points, but King James -- who is the ultimate -- was clearly slowed the most when Andre was in his face. The stats seem to show it:
His coach recognized it as well.
"I thought he was fantastic," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Iguodala after the win. "You know, Andre is one of the smartest defenders I've ever seen. He understands angles, he understands where everybody is on the floor. It's funny to say, when a guy gets 44 points, that the defender did a really good job, but I thought Andre did extremely well."
Dre pointed to his time in Philadelphia playing with Temple University great Aaron McKie who was tasked with trying to slow another all-time great, Kobe Bryant in the 2001 Finals. From Yahoo:
"I learned this early in my career from real vets — like, Aaron McKie was my real vet, he played against Kobe [Bryant] in the Finals in 2001 with Philly," Iguodala said during an NBA TV interview after the game. "He would always say, 'Listen, you're not going to stop these guys. These guys are going to get their points. People come to see them play. They're going to get to the foul line. They're going to get in rhythm every single night. The key to it is making it as hard for them as possible, making them take tough jump shots, contest everything and hopefully they'll miss.
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"And, every once in a while," he said, "try to get a steal, try to get a tip. Throw them off-rhythm."
Always good to hear about a Philly great helping another, even if our Philly teams aren't benefiting from it.
You may remember Allen Iverson getting choked up when talking about McKie at his official retirement, saying Mckie obviously influenced him more than any other teammate.
“Aaron McKie,” Iverson said and he repeated the name three more times. “I mean he was my teammate but he was on another level. He was my teammate but he was my friend.”
Iverson paused long and hard in between his thoughts, fighting back tears.
“He helped me so much in my career,” Iverson continued. “I talk about the mistakes that I made in my career. I made a million of them, but if it weren’t for Aaron McKie I would have made two million of them. He is just somebody I always listened to and could talk to about anything.”
If nothing else, Iverson and now Iguodala giving McKie so much credit should help a younger generation appreciate what McKie brought to basketball in this city.
Yahoo!'s Dan Devine has more on Iguodala's role in the Warriors' Game 1 victory including a quote about playing in socks when he was a kid.
PREVIOUSLY: How does Philly feel about Marreese Speights and Andre Iguodala potentially winning a championship?