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The Warriors are retiring another departing player's number

Kevin Durant won’t be the only player getting his number retired by the Warriors. Another hero of Golden State’s title run(s) is heading to the rafters with him.

Warriors owner Joe Lacob said the recently-traded Andre Iguodala’s No. 9 will never be worn again.

“Andre sacrificed for the betterment of our team and, in one of the best stories of this journey, earned NBA Finals MVP honors in 2015.” Lacob said in his statement announcing Iguodala’s trade to Memphis. “He has been absolutely vital to our success during five consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals and three championships. We thank Andre for all of his contributions and look forward to seeing his number in the rafters at Chase Center.”

Lacob put out a similar statement when Kevin Durant decided to join the Brooklyn Nets.

There was a bit of a backlash from fans over the decision to retire Durant’s number, but Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Kaduk added a dose of logic to the conversation in explaining why it’s also a particularly smart idea.

In an era where players decide where they want to team up, having a franchise that treats players with utmost respect and showers them with rewards for their hard work is just the type of reputation you want to have when stars hit free agency.

If the end goal for fans is to put more banners in the rafters it stands to reason some of those will honor individual players, too.

In Iguodala’s case, Lacob isn’t exaggerating when he mentioned his journey to Finals MVP in 2015. When the Warriors put Iguodala in the starting lineup for Game 4 after going down 2-1 in the series, it marked his first start all season and completely changed the way Golden State was able to guard LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers.

It was certainly one of the best stories of the season and reason enough for him to be considered a Golden State hero.

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 13:  Andre Iguodala #9 of the Golden State Warriors celebrates the play against the Toronto Raptors in the second half during Game Six of the 2019 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 13, 2019 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Andre Iguodala will have his jersey retired by the Golden State Warriors. (Getty Images)

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Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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