The argument escalated quite quickly. Gilbert Arenas’ squad had a heated debate about the 2015 Finals MVP, Andre Iguodala vs. LeBron James. The former Warriors star had an extraordinary defensive performance. Or did he? Iggy was clearly crucial for the Warriors’ win. But was that enough to stop the powerhouse that James was on the court during the Finals? That has been the debate for a decade now. As Nick Young made a bold claim, Arenas and Kenyon Martin were quick to present the facts.

It simply started with Jaylen Brown and Luka Dončić. But soon, the conversation shifted to James vs. Iguodala when Young highlighted that the latter had won the MVP honor. As both former NBA players Kenyon Martin and Agent Zero disagreed with Young, they focused on the numbers instead.

“The motherf*****s (media) said that Andre Iguodala did a great job on that Man. Great job. That motherf*****s ran with it,” Martin teased as Arenas highlighted the stats to show James’ performance. “The TV told you that, and that’s what you ran with,” Arenas added. The former Warriors player had 7 of the 11 votes, while James held 4, ultimately losing the battle. The Golden State Warriors clinched the Finals with a 105-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6. 

Across these six Finals games, James averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists. Arenas also highlighted how James scored 40 or more points at least three times during these games. The Lakers star shot a career-high 44 points in Game 1, which was spectacularly followed by triple-doubles in Games 2 and 5. Had he won the MVP honors, he would have been the second after Jerry West to win one in a losing effort.

Iguodala averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. So how did he win the honor? For starters, he restricted James to just 40% shooting from the field, his second-lowest across the 10 Finals he’s played. But this came on 32 attempts per game! The next most for LeBron is 23.7 attempts which came in the following year.

One would expect that with a higher volume, someone like James would go crazy. But that wasn’t exactly the case. So, is Young wrong? Moreover, the former NBA player, Iguodala once claimed that battling against James was what made him eligible for the MVP honors.

Andre Iguodala’s defensive game caught the attention 

Some even believed Stephen Curry should have won the Finals MVP. But Iguodala’s defense against the Cavaliers’ star was the highlight. James couldn’t be stopped, but he certainly scored the most points in the absence of Iguodala. 

Speaking to The Athletic, Iguodala opened up about his MVP win. “I just made the most of the opportunity. The scheme was set up for me to beat (James). And that doesn’t happen too often in the Finals. Normally, it’s the guy who’s the favorite (who has) the odds; those are the guys who always get the NBA Finals MVP,” the 4x NBA champ said. 

In Game 3, James shot 31.8%, while in Game 5, he shot 31.4% from the field. So, Iguodala’s did bring some change. He further added, “If you go back and watch, when the game said ‘shoot,’ I shot, and I made it. And when it said ‘pass,’ I made it. And then I had to go defend the guy. I didn’t stop him. I didn’t shut him down but just tried to make life hard for him so, in turn, he had to react in other ways. He had to think twice about.” Iguodala is certainly deserving of the title but was he able to stop James?