Andre Iguodala believes LeBron James' ‘Heatles’ were underrated instigators of small-ball offense

Andre Iguodala believes LeBron James-led Miami Heat revolutionized the NBA with their unique offense after 2011. In the latest episode of Old Man and the Three podcast with JJ Redick, the four-time NBA champion credited LeBron James’ Miami Heat for changing basketball with their small-ball offense. The 2015 NBA Finals MVP was one of the key factors in building the Warriors’ dynasty brick by brick.

Speaking about Erik Spoelstra and the Heat’s offense after landing James, Iggy said that after falling to Dallas in the 2011 Finals, the Heat made the changes and brought a small-ball offense on the floor with Chris Bosh at 5.

“Bron does well with shooters or guys diving to the basket. When he played and they lost to Dallas, they made subtle tweaks where Chris Bosh would be at the 5. It didn’t look small because LeBron is a big human being. They tweaked it against San Antonio and that’s when you started seeing smaller basketball. They went to the finals four times in a row, and then after them, it was us.”

Iguodala himself was a big part of Steve Kerr’s small-ball offense once the Heat’s dynasty was over. In the 2015 NBA Finals, Kerr initiated a lethal offense and brought Iguodala in place of big man Andrew Bogut to start the game. The Warriors won the title against LeBron and the Cavs and Iguodala won his first and only NBA Finals MVP.

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Is Andre Iguodala a Hall of Fame player?

There is no set benchmark for a player to qualify for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction. While many have been chosen for their impact on the game, individual achievements certainly have been at the foundation of it. In the latest episode of Old Man and the Three, Iggy weighed on his case for HoF. Iguodala said that he didn’t consider himself to be a Hall of Fame player.

"I know I have a lot of flaws. And I think there should be tiers of the Hall of Fame...I'm not a Hall of Famer if you ask me. No, no, no. Those guys [Hall of Famers] had no flaws. And I think I was good, but like Kobe...LeBron... C'mon man, I can't do that. And a lot of us can't do that. They have to be in their own, like, different world."

Despite Iguodala denying his eligibility for the prestigious Hall induction, he has an impressive resume. He was an All-Star in 2012 while he was still with the Philadelphia 76ers. He has been an All-NBA Defensive Team twice in his career. During his stint with the Warriors, Iguodala won four NBA titles.