Ranking Golden State Warriors from the 2022-23 season – Kevon Looney
With the 2022-23 season having come to an end, we look back and review every player that took to the floor for the Golden State Warriors. Players are ranked on performance, with some of that based on preseason expectations.
In a rather inconsistent Golden State Warriors’ season from a team perspective, Kevon Looney remained a stable presence in 2022-23 as one of the organization’s most important players on and off the floor.
Following an injury-plagued start to his career, the 27-year-old continued his transition into one the league’s ironmen. Looney played in all 95 of the Warriors’ outings throughout the regular season and playoffs, doing so for the second-straight season.
Described by Steve Kerr as the Golden State Warriors’ moral compass, Kevon Looney’s value to the franchise continued to strengthen in 2022-23.
Looney’s impact has never been about the numbers, but this may have been the first season where his pure box score numbers forced those outside the Warriors to sit up and take notice. He led the league in offensive rebounds with 274, an element that transitioned through to the postseason and his well-publicised battle with Domantas Sabonis.
The eighth-year center had 17 points and seven rebounds in under 30 minutes against the Orlando Magic on November 3, before recording his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds against the Utah Jazz on November 25.
Looney continued to put up career-best numbers, but his undoubted highlight came with his first ever buzzer-beater in a double overtime game against the Atlanta Hawks to start 2023. In true Looney fashion, he culminated a 14-point, 20-rebound night with a putback layup to give the Warriors a 143-141 win.
That buzzer-beater came in the midst of a 12-game span where Looney had nine outings with double-digit rebounds. Prior to that he’d also come agonisingly short of his first career triple-double — 14 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.
He had a six-game span either side of the All-Star break with at least 13 rebounds, and had double-digit boards in seven of eight games later in the season. Having entered the season with just six double-doubles in his career, Looney had 14 during a year where he put up career-best numbers across the board. He averaged highs in points, offensive, defensive and total rebounds, assists, free-throw attempts, and field-goal percentage.
For all the great work during the regular season, his dominance over Sabonis was perhaps the most lasting memory of his year. The Lithuanian was expected to be a big factor in what resulted as a close first-round series, only for Looney to average over 15 rebounds and control the pivotal matchup. It culminated in a remarkable deciding Game 7 where he had 11 points, 21 rebounds (10 offensive) and four assists in Golden State’s road win.
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After another monstrous 23 rebounds in Game 1 against the Lakers, Looney was hampered by illness and came off the bench for multiple games. He had nine points and 18 rebounds to close in Game 6, and despite the Warriors’ disappointing exit, it concluded an impressive season for the tireless Looney who once again proved himself as one of the league’s most underrated big men.