June 17, 2015
On a night of full of funny tweets, this one ranked up there:
Andre Iguodala wins MVP of NBA Finals literally a day after Kimmo Timonen raises the Stanley Cup, same day the Phillies can't work a phone
— CJ Burns (@CjBurns215) June 17, 2015
I wrote about Andre Iguodala after Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and he went on to play a consistently excellent series. Probably more than I can ever remember, the Finals MVP was a hot topic over the past week or so. In the end, there were three worthy candidates (Iguodala, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry), but Iguodala's two-way excellence eventually won out. It didn't hurt that he also had the narrative on his side, as the series shifted when Warriors coach Steve Kerr inserted him into the starting lineup before Game 4 with the Dubs down 2-1. Iguodala didn't start one game during the regular season, but there he was, accepting the MVP trophy from none other than Bill Russell.
Here are the voting results for Finals MVP. Iggy with 7 votes; LeBron with 4. pic.twitter.com/XsgYAqsiAR
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 17, 2015
When Iguodala was in, LeBron shot 38% and the Cavs were -55. When he sat, LeBron shot 44% and the Cavs were +30
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) June 17, 2015
Just the night before, Kimmo Timonen finally won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks during his last go-round. In what was an awesome moment, Hawks captain and ridiculously good hockey player Jonathan Toews hoisted the cup and quickly gave it to the 40-year-old defenseman who had just played in his last professional hockey game.
Despite the two players having far different impacts on their teams' respective playoff runs — Most of this comes down to age difference, as the 31-year-old Iguodala is probably past his prime but nowhere near the end of his career like Timonen — it struck me how many similarities there were between the two situations. Here were two guys whose careers are mostly identified with Philadelphia, playing for new organizations that are experiencing a golden age of sorts (like Chicago, Golden State isn't going anywhere), and winning a title in a diminished role from the one they had playing here.
From what I could tell, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive from both Flyers and Sixers fans, at least the ones I know. I'm sure there will be some hot take ("Violation, bro!") that states it's a sign of weakness to be happy for two former Philadelphians who consistently gave their all to the city, which is fine. People are entitled to their own opinion.
If you feel that way, though, there's a good chance you didn't appreciate how good Iguodala and Timonen were when they were ours.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
