We have provided an overall guide to the Andre Iguodala Spotlight Series here, and so it’s time to actually check out all the cards now that we’ve had some time to look at them more closely.
We’ll start with the heavy hitters from this batch of cards, a group that includes Iverson, Draymond Green and Steph.
Starting with the one card you don’t need for the Iguodala challenges, Iverson has 97 mid-range, 93 3-pointer, 98 speed, 98 acceleration, 98 driving layup, 80 driving dunk, 98 hands, 98 speed with ball, 98 ball handling, 93 passing accuracy, 88 perimeter defense, 82 help defense, 74 pick and roll defense, 96 lateral quickness, 98 pass perception, 98 steal and 92 shot contest.
He has 16(!) HOF badges: Acrobat, Consistent Finisher, Contract Finisher, Giant Slayer, Relentless Finisher, Slithery Finisher, Tear Dropper, Deadeye, Difficult Shots, Ankle Breaker, Quick First Step, Space Creator, Stop and Go, Tight Handles, Lightning Reflexes and Pick Pocket. With gold badges, he has Green Machine, Quick Draw, Flashy Passer, Handles For Days, Clamps. Pick Dodger and Interceptor.
So the direct comparison for this card in terms of recency is the pink diamond Derrick Rose. With Rose you’re getting a bit more size, a better overall finisher and a little stronger player. With AI, he’s the better overall defender, and he gets the better animations and shooting motion. In this comparison, you pick your favorite player of the two, but I do think AI is slightly better than Rose, even with Rose being an insane dunker in the game.
Draymond has 84 3-point shot, 79 speed, 90 strength, 82 driving layup, 82 post hook, 98 hands, 76 speed with ball, 77 ball handling, 84 passing accuracy, 95 interior defense, 86 perimeter defense, 95 help defense, 97 pick and roll defense, 86 lateral quickness, 92 pass perception, 96 reaction time, 80 steal, 84 block, 98 shot contest, 80 offensive rebounding and 82 defensive rebounding.
He also get HOF Heart Crusher, Intimidator, Post Love Lockdown, Rim Protector, Tireless Defender, Trapper and Defensive Leader. For gold badges, he has Clamps, Interceptor, Pogo Stick, Lightning Reflexes, Floor General, Dimer, Quick Draw, Green Machine, Flexible Release, Pick and Popper.
Height is just so important this year that it’s hard to recommend Draymond, especially if it comes to the center position. And that really pains me because I’ve loved using Draymond in small-ball lineups in MyTeam in previous year. However, it’s just not very viable, and at PF he’s not as important for what he brings to the table. If he were a little faster he might still be really interesting, but that’s not the case.
Be that as it may, he’s still going to be a defensive force if you don’t run into any huge centers, and his playmaking mixed with that defense is unique even at the PF position. His shot is also very easy to get the hang of, so he will most likely end up as a better shooter than you would expect. At the end of the day, HOF Intimidator is always worth taking note of in this game, so if Green dips low enough as the season goes on, he will at least be worth checking out for some offline challenges.
Curry has 89 mid-range, 97 3-point shooting, 88 speed, 91 acceleration, 97 driving layup, 88 speed with ball, 97 ball handling, 84 pick and roll defense, 85 lateral quickness, 97 reaction time, 85 steal and 82 shot contest.
He gets HOF Acrobat, Catch and Shoot, Deadeye, Difficult Shots, Quick Draw, Range Extender, Slippery Off-Ball, Tireless Shooter and Volume Shooter. In addition, he has gold Ankle Breaker, Flashy Passer, Floor General, Handles For Days, Quick First Step, Tight Handles, Unpluckable, Green Machine, Clutch Shooter, Corner Specialist, Pro Touch, Interceptor, Lightning Reflexes and Pick Pocket.
So, look, the shooting is obviously terrific, but the lack of Clamps and overall bad defense sort of makes him like Draymond in that he’s really hard to full-on recommend. At the point of attack, you just desperately need a good defender this year, and no matter how many hot spots he has, it still makes him hard to fully trust without the defense. I do think the card is solid, but he just doesn’t break into must-have territory at this point in the cycle.
