Andre Iguodala set to play his sixth consecutive NBA Finals, this time with Miami Heat

On Sunday (Monday morning IST), the Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics 125-113 to advance to the 2019-20 NBA Finals. While Bam Adebayo scored a team-high 32 points, veteran Andre Iguodala finished the game with 15 points while playing for 28 minutes. With the Heat's victory, Iguodala has now joined an elite list of players who will play six consecutive NBA Finals in their career.

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Iguodala NBA Finals: Andre Iguodala to play his sixth consecutive NBA Final

About to make his sixth straight NBA Finals appearance, Andre Iguodala is the tenth player in NBA history to do so. Bill Russell leads the list with 10 back-to-back appearances, followed by Sam Jones with nine. Tom Heinsohn, Frank Ramsey and LeBron James rank third with eight. James Jones (7), KC Jones (7), Bob Cousy (7) and Tom Sander (6) follow.

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Iguodala Heat stats

Andre Iguodala this season:

- Rested pretty much the whole regular season
- Promoted his book
- Got traded to a contender
- Signed a $30M extension
- Advances to his 6th straight Finals pic.twitter.com/NEGrZjgwJZ

— StatMuse (@statmuse) September 28, 2020

Iguodala started his NBA season with the Memphis Grizzlies, who acquired him from the Golden State Warriors last summer. Iguodala didn't play a single game for Memphis, as they looked for a better team to take him off their hands. This February, the Heat acquired the 16-year NBA veteran in a three-team trade, looking for an experienced NBA player on their roster. While Iguodala didn't fit with the Grizzlies, he slipped right into his role with the Heat. 

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While his previous finals appearances were with the Steph Curry-led Warriors, the Heat were the No. 5 seed when the postseason began. Now, the Heat are the third team seeded fifth or less since the league introduced seeding in 1984 to make it to the NBA Finals. Though Iguodala played few minutes per game off the bench, he's been pivotal in helping the Heat beat the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and Celtics to reach the NBA Finals. 

Heat's 125-113 victory confirms Lakers vs Heat finals 

In Game 6, Iguodala scored a season-high 15 points while shooting 100% from the field, which included four shots from beyond the arc. He also played 28 minutes, more than he has during the conference semifinals and finals. His crucial last ten minutes helped the Heat overcome their 96-90 deficit, securing the team's first NBA Finals appearance since 2014. Game 1 of Lakers vs Heat is scheduled for September 30, 9:00 pm EST (October 1, 6:30 am IST). 

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(Image credit: Miami Heat Instagram)