Warriors' Andre Iguodala believes Mark Jackson blackballed from NBA

Share

Mark Jackson was the head coach of the Warriors for three seasons.

"We were huge fans of Mark, the players," Andre Iguodala said Tuesday morning on The Breakfast Club. "He was the ultimate players coach. He was one of my favorite coaches of all-time. Come in, compete, play hard and then he was gonna put you in the best position to get the most money."

He was fired a couple days after the Dubs lost Game 7 of their NBA playoff first-round series to the Clippers in 2014.

Why?

"It was the politics," Iguodala said. "You know how it is -- once they want you out, they're gonna find something. So, he had church in the facility on Wednesdays sometimes. He would stream his church service from the facility.

"He would just set up a computer in the facility and he would just preach. And his congregation can watch and stream it ... on the road, I don't know. I know at home he did. It would be like 7 o'clock at night, so nobody was in there."

Anything else?

Golden State Warriors

Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.

Warriors' persistent shooting woes could accelerate trade pursuit

Marks cites Zion-to-Warriors trade as ‘low risk' possibility

"One particular issue from what I heard was his views on gender or marriage or what the bible said on your sexuality. Our head of our business [Rick Welts] is celebrated as one of the top execs in sports on the business side and he's gay.

"So there was conflict with that that was widespread. It was that, on top of issues with ownership. That was the crazy part. He didn't have a great relationship with the ownership. That ain't gonna ever work.

The 2015 NBA Finals MVP was then asked if he believes Jackson has been blackballed by the NBA.

"I do, yes," he answered.

Iguodala specifically is referring to coaching because Jackson immediately became a broadcaster after the Warriors let him go and he's been on the call for the last six NBA Finals.

[RELATEDThe one thing Dubs pick Paschall wants to work on most]

There were also basketball-related reasons for parting ways with Jackson.

Ultimately, Golden State absolutely made the correct decision in replacing him with Steve Kerr.

Follow @DrewShiller on Twitter and Instagram

Contact Us