NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. WARRIORS

June 16, 2022

Andre Iguodala

Gary Payton

Golden State Warriors

Game 6: Postgame

Golden State Warriors 103, Boston Celtics 90

Q. Andre, this is your fourth championship with this team. What makes this championship special more than the others?

ANDRE IGUODALA: This one was a lot of weight just because of all the shots, you know, each championship they threw at us, or particularly they threw at Steph, Finals MVP in the first one and KD, best player in the world, you know, trying to say that was unfair, and then you go a year where you win, what, they win 15 games, and last year, not being able to get to the playoffs, and for everything to come back together the way it did with me leaving and then coming back and different role, different capacity, and then having amazing teammates and a different set of like supporting cast.

This guy right here was huge for us. Earned himself a big payday this summer. Really happy for him, Wiggins, Jordan Poole, the growth of those guys.

But Steph, I think he solidified himself today -- not even today, just his career, as best point guard of all time.

Q. Gary, saw the picture with you and your dad. What does it mean to be able to bring another championship to the family, and then how special is it to be able to share that moment with your dad who played in this league?

GARY PAYTON II: You know, it's huge. It's crazy, you know, never would have thought something like this would happen, and I think I got mine sooner than his. One for one, something to talk about and I can get my stuff off against him now, so it's good.

Q. What's it mean to see Draymond, started this series rocky, but for him to come out and be impactful on both ends of the floor, disrupting everything defensively tonight? What's his leadership been like for you all throughout this entire journey?

ANDRE IGUODALA: You talk about the fabric of this team throughout the last eight years, and I've been saying this over and over, those three guys have had this league in a choke hold, in a headlock for a good period of time.

You go historically, there aren't too many teams that have been able to do that. It's a handful. The Celtics obviously a few times, the Lakers, the Bulls. The Spurs was a little bit more spread out, you know, and they were able to -- they did an amazing job as an organization.

But what we did, you know, you're watching "Winning Time," it's Magic, "30 for 30," "The Last Dance," all those things stand the test of time. But there's only a few of those, and this falls right in line with that.

And that's probably the most beautiful thing, and you need to have a certain type of fabric. And Draymond was the balance between two guys who grew up in the NBA, they are not enamored by the world we live in as professional athletes, the glitz and the glamour, and our culture with the Warriors is a little bit more carefree, and loose and sometimes that can take you out.

Look at last year, not making the playoffs, how many turnovers they had the last two games to get in, and I think Draymond, his discipline, his hunger, his focus, his tenacity, is a great balance to those two guys.

It's the ying and the yang. And he doesn't get enough credit for his brain and the IQ he brings to the game of basketball.

It's such a beautiful thing for him to -- we knew he was going to come together. I talked about it in my podcast, Point Forward, where I wasn't worried about Draymond. I think game -- Game 4, they said he didn't play well. How many points he have Game 4? He had eight rebounds, nine assists or something. He was a triple-double without the points. And the guy has had a triple-double without points. How many times has that happened in NBA history?

He's brash and he is who he is, but when you need him, he shows up. And tonight, that triple-double alert was right there, and just really happy for him and his future as the new media, the sky is the limit for him.

Q. Seven years ago today, you won your very first championship. How much has stayed the same and how much has changed throughout this journey?

ANDRE IGUODALA: If anything, the foundation has stayed the same, and it's a strong foundation, and you know, you hear about that, the foundation you build on determines the strength of the structure of the building.

Like I said, with Steph, Klay, Draymond, what they have done in this league and the foundation they have been able to build, you've got to give them a lot of credit. In a hundred years, you're going to be talking about some of the best players and teams and foundations, and those three guys, they kind of did a template of how do you build championship pedigree.

Q. Gary, you were going to apply for a video coordinator role at the beginning of the season. You were a fringe player for the last few years. I mean, to be here, be an NBA champion, how surreal is this moment for you?

GARY PAYTON II: It's just crazy. You know, just a journey. It's been a big learning experience for me. I appreciate every moment I had, all the falls, just to help me build on, you know, just sticking with it and just keep going.

So I'm still speechless right now. It's just crazy right now.

Q. You just said that Steph solidified himself as the best point guard of all time. People debate greatest players ever, all that stuff. When you think about the impact he's made on the game, would you put him up there on the Mt. Rushmore of the NBA for how he's going forward?

ANDRE IGUODALA: 100 percent. You talk about his size, you've never seen a guy his size dominate the league like this and just to put the weight of everything on his shoulders throughout a Finals series. You know, like we all saw what he was doing to them boys. Normally you get a guy that's a center, like an Hakeem or Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, those guys are 6-7 and taller and they can get to their spots and shoot over guys.

But a guy his height who is vertically challenged, they would say, just, you saw it, we all saw it. It was just incredible. He had a pull-up in the third quarter from deep. He had a look-away three, pardon my back three, he'd shoot it and walk away. That's probably my favorite part -- one of my favorite part of my career, being drafted and playing the Olympics and all these things is seeing talent like that.

I've said it time and time again, we're getting away from appreciating, I call them gods, but you know, that very unique talent, generational talent, because we are so close to them, we don't appreciate them as much. When he's gone, we're really going to miss him and forget how much of an impact, not just on the Warriors or the NBA, but on the entire globe. You know, like he made the world move.