UNC Basketball: Andre Iguodala makes bold claim about Rasheed Wallace

Current NBA player Andre Iguodala made a very bold statement regarding former UNC basketball and NBA standout Rasheed Wallace. 

It’s safe to say that Rasheed Wallace was a basketball player who was ahead of his time.

The former UNC basketball standout and long-time NBA veteran would have thrived in today’s modern game, given that the stretch big is a concept that has widely been adopted throughout the league.

Given his strong post presence and stretches of dominance from beyond the arc, Wallace would fit in nicely with the way the sport is played today.

Of course, his career is nothing to scoff at. The former first-round pick spent 16 seasons in the NBA, earning four All-Star game appearances. Along those lines, Wallace was certainly the ‘missing piece’ for the Detroit Pistons, as he helped guide the organization to an NBA title during the 2003-2004 season.

There will always be arguments about which players would succeed or even fail if they played in another era, but a current NBA player believes that the former Tar Heel would dominate if he played in this era.

During a recent appearance on the Dan LeBatard show, current NBA veteran Andre Iguodala had this to say about Wallace:

"“Rasheed Wallace probably could have been top five player in the league for a 10-year stretch,” he said. “He just chose, ‘I’ll do my thing over here.’ He was shooting 3s from half court. No, he was shooting half-court shots left-handed and right-handed. If Rasheed Wallace played in modern-day basketball today, if he played in our league today, he’d be the top five player in the league. He’d be better than Giannis, and I love Giannis.”"

Not only does Iguodala believe that Wallace would be a top-five player in today’s NBA, but also thinks that he would be better than current Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is considered one of the best players in the entire sport.

This is some very high praise from Iguodala, a person who isn’t afraid to make bold statements. He’s also been on the record by saying that Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards is more talented than future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade.

Wallace was never regarded as a top-ten player during his era, but it’s interesting to think that at least one current NBA player believes that he’d thrive in today’s game. Given the way that the ‘stretch four’ is utilized today, it’s very possible that the former UNC basketball standout could’ve put up even better career numbers playing in this generation.

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