Kevon Looney drawing comparisons to veteran and former Golden State Warriors teammates

The Golden State Warriors are in prime position to close out their first-round series against the Sacramento Kings, holding a 3-2 lead ahead of Game 6 at Chase Center. While there have been a number of key factors involved in their renaissance from an 0-2 deficit, Kevon Looney has undoubtedly played one of the lead roles.

The 27-year-old was good in Games 1 and 2 but his impact has grown as the series has gone along. With the surprise move of Draymond Green continuing to come off the bench after his Game 3 suspension, Looney has unsurprisingly taken to the responsibility of being the lone big man in a smaller Warrior starting lineup.

Kevon Looney has drawn comparisons to veteran and former teammates as his presence on the Golden State Warriors continues to be profound.

Looney’s matchup with Domantas Sabonis is arguably the biggest reason behind the Warriors’ stranglehold on the series. Many outside fans were skeptical of Looney’s capacity to limit the All-Star center, but he continues to prove people wrong as part of a growing reputation.

The 6’9″ center has two 20+ rebound performances over the last three games, totalling 14 more rebounds than Sabonis — the league’s leading rebounder during the regular season — over the five games in this series.

Looney also has three more assists than Sabonis despite the skilled Kings center often playing as the fulcrum of the Sacramento offense. Looney’s role-playing abilities continue to enhance, and it hasn’t been lost on Green who compared him to veteran teammate Andre Iguodala, and former teammate Shaun Livingston in the post-match of Game 4.

"“You know, when we were a lot younger in this run we had those guys, Shaun, Andre, that list goes on. But those two guys in particular that no matter what was going on, I start turning the ball over, Klay goes haywire, Steph goes haywire, and they would come in and just calm us down. Kevon is that for this team.”"

It feels like an apt comparison for Looney whose calming presence and leadership belies his still relatively young age. In the aftermath of the horrific training camp incident between Green and Jordan Poole, he was and is viewed as the ‘moral compass’ of this Golden State team.

Looney is very much a part of the veteran core of this Warriors squad, but in some ways he also bridges the gap between they and the plethora of young talent on the roster. The off-court impact is immeasurable and hard to define, though the on-court is becoming blatantly obvious as this series progresses.