The Miami Heat are quite familiar with LeBron James, as the three-time champion played for the franchise for four seasons from 2010-2014. But Andre Iguodala is also familiar with James for a different reason, as he played against him in four straight Finals from 2015-2018 as a member of the Golden State Warriors. 

He won three of those battles, but Iguodala, who is making his sixth straight Finals appearance, knows how difficult it is to play against the four-time Most Valuable Player, since he had the unenviable task of guarding him during their Finals battles.

And he knows that mistakes are something that the Heat won’t have the luxury of making against the Lakers forward:

“You just got to have that will understanding you’re guarding the top talent ever,” Iguodala said to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “He’s going to make you pay when you make mistakes. You just try to play mistake-free basketball. Put him in vulnerable situations where you feel like you got the advantage, whether it’s a shot or a pass or where he is defensively.”

According to ESPN Stats, the Heat star has spent the most time guarding James out of any player since the 2015 Finals, and has held him to 44% shooting. In the 2015 Finals, the three-time champion was named as the Finals MVP over James after averaging 14.6 points on 54.9% shooting from the field, six rebounds, and 3.8 assists.

They weren’t gaudy numbers, but it was his effort on the defensive end in slowing down James that earned him the award as the Warriors took home the first of their three titles. 

But after a loss to the Toronto Raptors in last year’s Finals, Iguodala left for the Memphis Grizzlies but didn’t play for the team, instead joining the Heat last February.

He averaged career-low numbers for Miami but stuck with them, and now has a chance to win his fourth championship, with a familiar foe standing in the way.