For Andre Iguodala, 2009 was to be a year of tremendous growth. He worked incredibly hard for the season, hoping to live up to all of the hype, the expectations and that huge 6 year, $80 million contract. How hard you ask? Well every day, he went into the gym and practiced taking shots until he made between 500 and 1000 jumpers a day. That’s made, not attempted. Huge difference! He put in the time and thus was quite excited about the year and the changes he hoped his play would make for his team, the Philadelphia 76ers.

It’s been awhile since Allen Iverson took the team to the edge of winning it all and both the franchise and the city of Philadelphia are ready for a return to glory. Much of everyone’s hopes are squarely on the broad shoulders of Andre Iguodala. He understands that the expectations of him are through the roof because of the contract he signed in 2008. However, he’s not afraid of hard work, as evidenced by the aforementioned shooting regimen, or pushing himself relentlessly so that he can help make Philly a contender once again. If it requires practically living at the gym and taking an insane amount of shots every day, so be it. For Andre Iguodala, 2009 could be a make or break year and he’s gunning for the former.