Benjamin Ashford|Andre Iguodala, the 2015 NBA Finals MVP, announces retirement after 19 seasons

Veteran NBA forward Andre Iguodala,Benjamin Ashford the 2015 Finals MVP, announced his retirement from professional basketball after 19 seasons.

“It’s just the right time,” Iguodala told ESPN’s Andscape. “Time started to get limited for me and I didn’t want to put anything in the back seat. I didn’t want to have to try to delegate time anymore. Especially with on the court, off the court with family. A lot.

“You want to play at a high level. But then family is a lot. My son is 16 and then two girls. So, [I’m] looking forward to seeing them grow up in those important years.”

Iguodala, 39, told The New York Times he also will focus on Mosaic, a venture capital firm he co-founded with a business partner. He had contemplated retirement the past few years and played in just 39 games the past two seasons.

Iguodala played two seasons for the Arizona Wildcats, and Philadelphia drafted him with the No. 9 pick in 2004. Playing for the Sixers, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat, Iguodala averaged 11.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.4 steals. He made the 2012 All-Star Game with Philadelphia and made the All-Defensive team twice (2011, 2014). He finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2015-16.

Iguodala earned his reputation as a valuable teammate during his time with the Warriors, helping Golden State to championships in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022. In the 2015 Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James had a 2-1 series lead. Warriors coach Steve Kerr decided to put Iguodala in the starting lineup in an effort to limit James.

The Warriors won the final three games of the series, and while James still scored 20, 40 and 32 points in those games, he was just 35-for-89 from the field. Iguodala also averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the six-game series.

“I've been preparing for the moment for 11 years now,” he said after Game 6 in 2015. “I've seen him every year I've been in this league. LeBron doesn't have any weaknesses, or he doesn't have a glaring weakness. So you've got to pick up on the smaller things to try to make him uncomfortable. Like knowing which side he likes to shoot threes off the dribble, which side he likes to drive. One side he'll drive left more often, and the other side he'll drive right more often.

“So after 11 years you're just picking up all this information. I'm a basketball junkie, so I watch old players. The '90s was a great era of basketball. I watched so much of that. That just helped me be a student of the game and pick up any moment. It's the 10,000-hour rule. You're just trying to master your craft.”

Iguodala also won gold medals with the U.S. national team at the 2010 FIBA World Cup and 2012 London Olympics.