Andre Iguodala on Impact of Smartphones in NBA

Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala has provided some interesting insight into the role phones play in the NBA. 

An NBA veteran of 15 seasons, Andre Iguodala was around before smartphones and social media, and lived through that transition.

Andre Iguodala (35), revealed that players check their phones at halftime on The Breakfast Club.

Smartphones permeate the lives of everybody, but for someone in the public eye, the scrutiny is even more intense. Iguodala said that outside pressures are more prevalent than ever in the NBA due to this.

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With fans hungry for more and more access to their idols, and agents hungry for publicity and cash, modern NBA players couldn’t escape outside pressure if they wanted to.

“It’s normal now to go in the locker room, and first thing people do is grab their phones,” Iguodala said.

“At halftime. It’s like normal now.” 

It must be like an echo chamber for modern athletes. Not only do they have instant evaluation of their performance from an athletic perspective. They also have instant evaluation of their performance from a social and political perspective.

“I’m lookin’ and dudes are checkin’ Instagram,” he continued. 

“Checkin’ their halftime stats.” 

The fact that players are checking their halftime stats is particularly interesting. Top level sport across the world is now more stats-focused thanks to improved technology. Stats are fetishized somewhat, much to the chagrin of ‘old school’ fans of the sport. 

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Iguodala says that outside noise plays a factor whether it’s the media, fans or agents. 

“I mean, you’re kind of taught that,” Iguodala said. 

“If you’re a player where you’re on the borderline of superstar … your agent’s telling you that before every game. ‘Look man, you gotta get 22 tonight.'”