The Golden State Warriors showed the importance of sacrifice in their march to the NBA championship in the 2014-15 season. They had starters willingly accept lesser bench roles in order for the right mix of lineups and rotation to exist in order to give them the opportunity they needed to dominate the NBA. They won 67 games and were rarely challenged consistently once they got to the playoffs.
It wouldn't be crazy to think those starters who sacrificed for the greater good may want to get their chance to shine again, but that won't be happening with Andre Iguodala. He's learned to embrace the role of Sixth Man and feels more comfortable with it than he did last season. However, he doesn't want an award for being the top Sixth Man in the NBA. That doesn't interest him at all. From USA Today:
“You learn how to embrace (the role), and when you embrace things, things tend to work out in your favor,” said Iguodala, who is again expected to play behind starter Harrison Barnes while leading the second unit. “I’ve been through (playing sixth man) for a year, (I) understand it a trillion times more than last year. Definitely more comfortable. I’m actually looking forward to it.”
As for the notion of winning the Sixth Man of the Year award, Iguodala was quick to stop the conversation there. His view, as he so comically shared, is that the individual accolades should begin and end with the league’s MVP award.
“I’m not a fan of the award, actually,” he said. “It’s like affirmative action or something (like that) to me.”
After you win the Finals MVP award, it's probably hard to care about being named Sixth Man of the Year, especially when you're a defensive player and it's typically given to guys who score a lot off the bench.
In Pat Riley's book Showtime he discussed the "disease of more," which is the idea that when a team becomes successful and gains the spotlight because of it, those individuals on the team gravitate toward wanting more recognition and opportunity to shine. By avoiding that and sacrificing individual glory, you give your team a chance at repeating success.
This is a good example of that with the Warriors. They re-signed Draymond Green, who took the place of David Lee in the starting lineup last season, and brought back the same core of players for another title run. Iguodala wanting to come off the bench, and not just agreeing to do it but embracing the idea fully, is a good sign they won't be poisoned by the "disease of more."
