Kevon Looney, the Warriors’ first round pick from last season, spent most of the year hurt or on the bench. He’ll have an opportunity to shine.
One of the Golden State Warriors’ biggest strengths from last season was their incredible bench. The second unit allowed their starters to rest while keeping the game competitive. As with all teams, the Warriors’ roster is a little different heading into next season, but there are still many familiar faces.
The Warriors’ biggest acquisition this offseason was unquestionably superstar forward Kevin Durant. Along with the former MVP, the Warriors added some players to their bench like veteran center David West. The Warriors also have a lot of young players on their bench like Patrick McCaw, Damian Jones, Ian Clark, and Kevon Looney.
Despite having a star-studded starting lineup, the Warriors will need their bench. With all that being said this article will now attempt to answer the question of what bench player will be the most improved from last season for Golden State. This player will have to have been on the Warriors during last years historic season (so that means no rookies are eligible either).
One of the leaders off the bench last season for Golden State was guard Shaun Livingston who put up an incredibly efficient season off the bench. Another key component of the Warriors was Andre Iguodala who brought a veteran presence to the team and played well. These are both incredible players, but also not who will likely be the most improved given their productive performances last season.
Kevon Looney will take the biggest step this season. Looney was drafted 30th overall in last seasons NBA draft and received very little playing time for the Warriors in his rookie season. It is worth mentioning that the Warriors lost some key bench players like Festus Ezeli and Leandro Barbosa this offseason and that could allow for more playing time for this young forward. Looney averaged a measly 4.2 minutes per game last season in which he also averaged 1.8 points per game and 2 rebounds per game. His numbers Per 36 minutes, per Basketball Reference, were better than Anderson Varejao’s.
Despite the fact that Looney did not receive much playing time he was efficient by shooting .571 from the field and .500 from three point range (in very limited attempts). Granted Looney only shot seven times last season (two from behind the arc) it will take very little for Looney to improve from his previous season.
Looney also spent some time with the Warriors D-League team last year, the Santa Cruz Warriors, and that shows a larger sample size for Looney’s play. Looney averaged 9.8 points per game and an impressive 7.4 rebounds per contest. The Warriors would love to see Looney step up his play in his second season and giving him more playing time would almost guarantee that.
The Warriors will likely call on Looney to increase his role in his second season in the league. Looney showed in the D-League that he is can wrangle some rebounds and that, along with his size, means he can play either small or power forward. Looney could step in for either Draymond Green or Kevin Durant when they are tired and still bring the Warriors production.