週五，安德烈·伊戈達拉作為 NBA 球員正式退役，爭論已經開始：伊基是名人堂成員嗎？ 這是一個沒有明確答案的問題。 如果他進來了，他應該受到慶祝。 如果他不這樣做，也不會造成嚴重的不公正。

我會直截了當地說：我不認為伊戈達拉有過名人堂生涯，我也不認為他是名人堂球員。 是的，我相信這是兩件不同的事情。 不，我不認為伊戈達拉 相當 選取任一方塊。

但是，夥計，真是一位球員。 在我們進一步討論之前，讓我們確保我們不會忽視這一點。 這個傢伙是現代最全能、最有價值的球員之一。 你總是聽到人們說我們永遠不會看到另一個喬丹，或另一個勒布朗，或另一個庫裡，但問問自己：我們什麼時候才能看到另一個伊戈達拉？

可能需要一段時間。 因為讓我告訴你，有世界級本能的世界級運動員不是長在樹上的。 伊戈達拉是一個王朝的核心組成。 如果僅此而言，他就是歷史上最稀有的球員之一。

但更重要的是，他看待和玩遊戲的方式是獨一無二的。 他是一位令人難以置信的運動員，他更喜歡在球場上思考自己的方式，在很長一段時間裡，他本可以跳過整個棋盤，但他卻領先了三步棋。

與我們所詬病的那些膚淺的運動員相反，伊戈達拉看到並帶來了比賽中最灰色的區域。 他也是同代人中最好的外線防守者和最高智商的球員之一，也是得分之外所有有價值的進攻燈塔。

並不是伊戈達拉不能得分，但這從來都不是他的強項。 在他職業生涯的早期，他被錯誤地定位為76人隊的首選球員。 即使在他的巔峰時期，他也從未達到 20 分大關，而且他職業生涯的場均得分略高於 11 分。 他入選過一次全明星陣容，但沒有入選過NBA最佳陣容。

雖然伊戈達拉仍處於身體巔峰，但他憑藉自己的處境，同時也表現出了令人欽佩的謙遜，淡化了比賽中那些容易導致這些類型區別的部分，這導致了他在兩場比賽中最重要的數字。職業生涯和名人堂簡歷：四次總冠軍。

伊戈達拉最近在“老人與三人組”播客上討論他入選名人堂的優點時說道：“我不是一個戒指文化愛好者，但我從中受益匪淺。” 然後他對入選名人堂提出了一個有趣的想法。

「我認為名人堂應該有等級，」伊戈達拉建議。 「如果你問我，我不是名人堂成員。如果你問我，不，不，不，不。那些傢伙 [Hall of Famers]，他們沒有任何缺陷。 我認為我很好，但就像Kobe一樣 [Bryant]勒布朗 [James]，拜託，我做不到。 我們很多人都做不到這一點。 他們必須處於自己的不同世界。 然後是喬丹 [Michael Jordan} should be in his own different world. That’s how good MJ was.”

This will never happen, but for the sake of having a nuanced discussion, Iguodala is on to something here. When we think of Hall of Fame, we think best of the best, and Iguodala was never that. But neither was Mo Cheeks, and yet he’s in Springfield. 

Cheeks also made his mark as a top-flight defender who averaged the same 11 PPG as Iguodala. He won one championship, with the 1983 Sixers, and wasn’t close to the best player on that team. On equivalency, Iguodala should be in any Hall that includes Cheeks, but two wrongs don’t make a right. Cheeks, if we’re in the business of being honest, probably wasn’t a Hall of Fame player. 

If there were tiers, as Iguodala suggests, perhaps it’s a different story. The all-time greats in Tier 1: Jordan, LeBron, Kareem, Magic, Kobe, Bird, Shaq, Duncan, Oscar, Hakeem, Curry, West, Wilt, Russell, Durant, Dr. J, Isiah, Moses, and so on down the line. Giannis will eventually be in this group. Same for Jokić. 

Tier 2 is the perennial All-NBA types — not quite all-time greats, but no-doubt first-balloters: Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen and Dwyane Wade come to mind. This, by far, is the group that comprises the most Hall of Famers. James Harden will eventually be in it. Same for Carmelo Anthony, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. 

Tier 3 resides squarely on the fence. Reggie Miller averaged 18 points for his career and never made a first or second-team All-NBA. I would argue that Iguodala meant at least as much, if not more, to winning at the highest level as Miller ever did. At the very least Iggy was certainly a more complete player, only without the leading-man moments that run on a vintage NBA TV loop. 

Then again, Miller had to carry his teams. Iguodala never had to do that. Or when he did, they weren’t that good. We call it a sacrifice that he took on the sixth-man role for Golden State as if he was a superstar who willingly went to the bench, but realistically he was the fifth-best player on that first title team, and even that could be argued against. Andrew Bogut definitely had a case. 

Sure, Iguodala was better than Harrison Barnes and was therefore good enough to start. But that doesn’t make you a Hall of Famer. The truth is, Iguodala was better suited for a supporting role the whole time; his transitioning from an overtasked “star” in Philadelphia, and to some degree in Denver, to a star in his role in Golden State wasn’t so much a sacrifice as a stroke of career fortune. 

He was perfect on those Warriors teams. Absolutely perfect. But those teams were also perfect for him in that they covered for what he couldn’t do. If Iguodala doesn’t hook up with Curry, Durant, Klay and Green, he’s just a one-time All-Star with a couple of second-round playoff appearances. This Hall of Fame thing isn’t even a discussion. 

But he did hook up with the right team at the right time. He saw Steph Curry and the Warriors coming when his Nuggets lost to them in the first round of the 2013 playoffs. He knew he could add elements that Golden State lacked, and he was right. He unlocked so much of what that team did on both ends of the court, and he was rewarded for it with the 2015 Finals MVP. But to this day, anyone who argues that Iguodala actually deserved that distinction over Curry loses all credibility in those sorts of discussions. 

Iguodala was immensely valuable. He was never, not even for one second, more valuable than Curry. Not in that series. Not ever. And that’s important. It’s easy to over-romanticize the “little-things” players. It’s your chance to look smart. The Finals MVP voters thought they were being smart in 2015. They weren’t. 

Years from now, will Hall of Fame voters look smart if they grant entrance to Iguodala? No. But they won’t look dumb, either. As I said from the start, reasonable minds can disagree on this. If Iggy gets in, it will be fine. If he doesn’t, it will also be fine. 

That’s how it is for Tier 3 candidates. They can go either way. I suspect it will be an equally interesting discussion when Jrue Holiday retires. A champion. A great defender. But not quite a great player. In the end, being that this tiers idea, as much sense as it makes, is never going to happen, all voters can do is operate on the strict standard of true greatness. To me, Iguodala is, or was, a really good player who falls just short of that standard.