Iguodala: Last year with Sixers was draining

In his eight years in Philly, Andre Iguodala dealt with five head coaches and constant criticism and trade rumors.

On Wednesday, Iguodala, now a Denver Nugget, opened up about how he feels about his time with the Sixers.

"I haven't really enjoyed basketball a whole lot the last couple of years," Iguodala told CBS Sports, (via Liberty Ballers). "Last year was a big year for us, but it was just draining for the criticism to be there every single day."

Iguodala's shooting touch was often questioned during his time with the Sixers, and he didn't share the same opinions about his shot as fans, analysts or even his most recent head coach.

"I went through so much to prove myself in every single training camp because a lot of coaches would come in and say, 'Don't shoot threes. Don't shoot threes. Don't shoot threes. Drive and dunk. Drive and dunk.' And I would be like, 'I can shoot threes!'

"So in Doug Collins' first year, I didn't shoot threes because he was like, 'I don't want you shooting threes, I don't want that shot,'" Iguodala said. "Last year, I said, 'I'm shooting it.' And what happened? Shot 38 percent from three, top-25 in the NBA from three and I'm supposed to be a non-shooter. You put so much work in, and then to be told, 'Don't do what you worked on all summer.'"

Iguodala actually shot a career-high 39.4 percent from three last season, 27th in the league. According to basketball-reference.com, including postseason, he actually shot better from three (39.3 percent) than from the area between the free-throw line and the arc (29.7 percent from 16 feet to the arc). However, he shot 43.9 percent from 10 to 15 feet out.

Iguodala leaves behind an up-and-down legacy in Philadelphia, in which his defense and distribution skills arguably were never fully appreciated because he lacked the big-time scoring abilities that often come from "franchise players."

And so when he was told he was traded to Denver, one of Iguodala's first thoughts was sticking it to his former team.

"I'm in warmups [at the Summer Olympics in London], and I'm thinking 'Where am I going to move? Who's going to send my stuff back? Who's moving with me? When do we play Philly? I can't wait to play them,'" he said.

Fortunately for Iguodala, the Nuggets open their season at the Wells Fargo Center on Halloween.