When it comes to attempting to limit LeBron James, to the extent it can be done, the Warriors have options. If they need bulk, they have one of the best defenders in the game, Draymond Green, a favorite for the Defensive Player of the Year award. If they need length, there is 6-10 Kevin Durant (if you choose to believe he's just 6-10). If they need speed, they have one of the world’s best two-way players, 6-7 guard Klay Thompson.

Most of all, though, the Warriors have Andre Iguodala, and for the majority of the last two NBA Finals, he proved to be the league’s best anti-James weapon. But that applied only to most of those finals — not the entirety. In the closing games of last year’s series, Iguodala lost his James-stopping touch, and that ranks as a significant reason that the Warriors coughed up their 3-1 edge a year ago.

NBA FINALS PREDICTION: Who wins Cavs vs. Warriors III?

For all the well-known All-Stars participating in this series, the hoops cognoscenti will be paying attention to Iguodala. His matchup against James figures to be the barometer of these games, and the results of their pairing over the past two finals have been mixed.

Moreover, Iguodala, who was once an All-Star in Philadelphia and the expected heir apparent to Sixers legend Allen Iverson, has seen his career morph into that of unsung hero and supersub, a guy who made the sacrifice to accept bench duties in Golden State. But he reached his pinnacle in the 2015 Finals thanks to his exceptional defensive effort on James, which earned Iguodala an upset selection as the series MVP.

The legacy of Iguodala’s 13-year NBA career is now wrapped up in his meetings with James. Consider that, after the first four games of last year’s finals, Iguodala was discussed as a legitimate candidate to repeat as the NBA Finals MVP. He had etched his niche as kryptonite for James, who averaged 24.8 points and 5.8 turnovers in those first four games last June.

In Game 2 of the series, for example, Iguodala was James’ primary defender on 17 possessions, and James was 1 of 3 with seven turnovers on those possessions. Through four games of the 2016 finals, the Cavs had been outscored with James on the floor by 6.6 points per 100 possessions.

But after James exploded in Game 5 (notably, with Green missing due to suspension), a Game 6 back injury sapped Iguodala’s effectiveness. In the last three games of the series, James scored 41, 41 and 27 points, and shot 50.6 percent from the field, with just 2.7 turnovers.

(Getty Images) https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/db/ae/lebron-james-andre-iguodala-ftr-052517jpg_1b6oqwz9w32cp1jw2rm6ks4arm.jpg?t=1114659308&w=500&quality=80

CAVS-WARRIORS III: Greatest "three-matches" in sports history

Iguodala was a plus-54 over the first four games, running his total plus/minus in the two Cavs-Warriors finals (six games in 2015, four in 2016) to plus-116, easily the best production of any player on either team over that span. According to NBA.com, second on that list at the time was Green, at plus-71.

It all fell apart from there, as is easily remembered. Iguodala was a minus-35 in the final three games last June. Now, the key question is, why? Did James figure out some things that helped him poke holes in Iguodala’s D? Or did Iguodala’s back injury — which came after James’ big Game 5 — just slow him down too much?

Iguodala, for his part, is taking the same approach as usual to James in this series, but, at the same time, has been watching film to identify new Cavs wrinkles.

“He’s so dynamic, he can hurt you different ways, especially with his passing ability,” Iguodala said. “They have new sets they put in because they have different personnel, how he looks for those guys. You are always trying to look for new things.”

MORE: Warriors, Cavs and LeBron reaching unprecedented levels of success

Health, though, is again an issue for Iguodala, who is 33 and played a career-low 26.3 minutes per game this year. He has been dealing with soreness in his knee. He has been tight-lipped on the injury, saying, “I feel fine, ready to go.” But his struggles have been obvious, averaging just 6.5 points, and only 11.1 percent shooting on 3-pointers in 11 playoff games.

That’s not the primary concern. For the Warriors, it is Iguodala’s ability to muscle up against James without fouling, to offer pokes at the ball without reaching in, to commit to close-outs without falling for head-fakes — all of that matters most.

And though the back half of his own career has been defined by his ability to stem the James juggernaut, Iguodala can step back and appreciate the way James approaches this stage.

“He does a great job of taking care of his body and taking care of his mind so he can be locked in,” Iguodala said. “For him, it is playing for that legacy.”

Of course, for Iguodala and his reputation as a thwarter of James, this is legacy stuff, too.