Andre Iguodala shares advice to Warriors rookie Kuminga, Moody on NBA Finals

June 2, 2022

The Golden State Warriors are set to take on the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals bringing two of its rookies, duo forward Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. The upcoming experience will be unlike any other they have experienced before in the regular season and the playoffs. No amount of mistakes is allowed since the competition has arrived at the last leg of the race for the championship title.

Such concerns are exactly what worries Warriors veteran forward Andre Iguodala ahead of the finals opener game this week. Iguodala revealed what he shared to both rookies in hope that they would take advantage of things he never did.

Speaking to reporters in San Francisco on Wednesday during the Media Day, the veteran who played for Golden State for almost nine years now had warned both Kuminga and Moody to not take things for granted in the NBA Finals.

Iguodala reminds Warriors rookies to ‘enjoy the moment’

The three-time NBA champion felt it was one of his responsibilities to ensure the team’s rookies did not take things for granted when the Finals kick in.

“Well, we expect kids to just take the world when we say they’re supposed to. You know what I mean?” Iguodala said. “They’re 19-year-old kids. Historically, they aren’t supposed to take on everything that comes with being in the Finals.”

The veteran who had just returned to play for Golden State in late 2021 after playing for the Miami Heat in the 2020-2021 season also thinks that given all of the consideration the duo rookies shouldered, both must not be blinded while being in the spotlight.

“They’re supposed to be on college campuses learning about themselves, learning who they are as people, learning what they like, learning what they don't like, instead of these guys making five-plus million dollars a year, got all the pressures, the madness of having money and being in the spotlight. You can become jaded. You can start taking these things for granted,” Iguodala added.

“It's not their fault. I'm guilty of it, just being in the Finals so many times where I feel nothing. I just know it's my job to go out and win. Really no joy in it, it's just going to work.”

Kuminga and Moody are the youngest players in the Warriors. Despite their age, the former being 19-year-old and the other 20-year-old, the duo had tremendous contributions to the franchise’s successful journey in the regular season and in the playoffs series, most recently when Golden State almost completely swept the Dallas Mavericks off the Conference Finals.

The Warriors’ performance speaks for itself and no doubt that both rookies had put in a huge amount of work to help the franchise’s entry to the final. With their hard labor, Iguodala was well-aware that the duo is capable of performing in the big league, but his two cents are to “soak up everything” and “enjoy the moment”, two things which the veteran wished he did in the past.

“Trying to get them to understand you really want to soak up everything that is here, like take pictures. In some Finals I have went to, I have no memorabilia, I don't even remember it. I look back, I wish I would have did this, I wish I would have did that. So just giving them the feedback there,” he continued.

“They both work hard, both put in the work. Just making sure they enjoy the moment, understand this isn't really a given, and it's really, really hard to get here.”

Jake
Jake Williams
Jake Williams is a sports gambling expert. He's been writing in the sports betting and DFS industry for over a decade. He specializes in MLB and NBA, along with College Basketball and College Football.