The resurgence of Warriors’ Kevon Looney has been pleasant surprise
It’s been a terrific first several weeks of basketball for the Golden State Warriors.
They’ve started their first 15 games of the 2021-2022 season securing 13 wins. While many knew this team was going to be different from the product fans have seen the past two years, this level of play wasn’t expected by many.
The Golden State Warriors have been getting major contributions from starting center Kevon Looney, and to say the least, his strong play was unexpected.
The Warriors won 15 games two seasons ago, and then they missed the playoffs after two straight losses in the play-in tournament last season. After five straight NBA Finals appearances, they’ve missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
That said, when making an improvement to the Warriors level, usually you need a superstar addition, which they haven’t had. What they have had is many players stepping up and taking their play to the next level.
Starting center Kevon Looney has been one of them. Looney is in a contract year after getting a three-year deal following a solid 2019 postseason. His past two seasons, the former first-round pick hasn’t done much.
Looney averaged 3.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game over the last two seasons.
This year has been far different as Looney is averaging 5.1 points and a career-high 6.7 rebounds per game. He had a career-high 17 rebounds in a 13-point victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 10.
Not known for his volume scoring nor his ability to rebound at a high levels, the Warriors originally awarded Looney the $15 million deal because of his ability to get on the offensive glass and also switch onto guards like James Harden, which he proved efficient at guarding in the 2019 playoffs.
This season isn’t even among the top three in terms of usage rate for Looney either.
He’s just been able to use the chances he’s been given and exploit opposing teams. He, by far, has the team’s highest offensive rebounding rate as well. He’s been a one-man show on the offensive glass.
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That said, it’ll be interesting how his minutes fluctuate when second-year star James Wiseman gets back into the lineup. He may change everything, but for now, it’s been Looney who has been a pleasant surprise for this team.