While casually flipping through the channels this past weekend, I was able to catch an hour of the "film" She's All That. For those of you unfamiliar with this movie, it revolves around a bet made by two popular students who try to turn the less popular girl into the prom queen.
As I watched the legendary Freddie Prinze Jr. pursue the "IT girl" while callously dismissing the equally attractive, yet less popular one, I was reminded of the viewpoints some people have in regard to the Philadelphia 76ers.
I must say, I have been as guilty of this as any other Sixers fan. I have always assumed the grass is greener elsewhere. I see high profile players, aka the "IT girls," making a mockery of the NBA free agent system and I say to myself, "Man, I wish we could get a guy like that in Philly."
Little did we know, behind a pair of "hipster" glasses, sat Andre Iguodala.
As the trade deadline approached, the Philadelphia faithful had written him off. Fans were adamant a trade be made that would rid the city of Iguodala. His contract's expensive and he wasn't producing the way we had envisioned...Or was he?
The other day as I walked the halls of Cherry Hill East High School, I was approached by Class President Jason Warren. Jason, an avid reader of SB Nation and an enormous Sixers fan, told me my next story needs to be about Andre Iguodala. He then gave me a stat which blew my mind. Iguodala and Lebron James are the only two NBA players averaging over 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists per game.
Now I am not a proponent of random stats such as this...Like say the stat I heard prior to Game 5 of the NLCS last October: Roy Halladay has only three times lost to the same opponent three times in a single season.
Confusing? Yes, and also very random. Yet, walking into Citizens Bank Park that evening, I was sure that game was a lock.
The Iguodala fact holds more water. Although he is only averaging 14 points per game compared to LeBron's 26, the fact that he is able to produce a stat line like this, says something about his star capabilities. Not many people can pull off a triple double, let alone two in a row.
The rest of the Sixers have benefited from Iguodala's recent string of good play. Evan Turner is developing right in front of our eyes, while Thaddeus Young has shown consistency over the past few weeks.
Maybe we should stop focusing on the NBA's "attractive" players and instead focus on the team standing in front of us.