Kevon Looney had become the ironman of the Golden State Warriors over the past few years, but unfortunately that hasn't translated to his new start at the New Orleans Pelicans following a frustrating injury update on Wednesday.
The Pelicans have announced that Looney will be re-evaluated in two-to-three weeks after suffering a ligament sprain in his left knee, with the injury coming during the team's second preseason game in Australia earlier this month.
Pelicans' recent injury woes have already extended to Kevon Looney
While this injury might be on the minor side, it continues a horror recent injury run for the Pelicans that saw their 2024-25 season essentially end before it even had a chance to begin. Superstar forward Zion Williamson was limited to 30 games, while Brandon Ingram only appeared in 18 before he was traded to the Toronto Raptors at the mid-season deadline.
Dejounte Murray went down with a devastating torn achilles after 31 games, and Herb Jones had season-ending surgery on his shoulder after just 20 games. The injury woes did allow rising star Trey Murphy III to have a breakout year, yet even he only made 53 appearances.
Just to add insult to injury, the Pelicans made a questionable trade for 13th overall pick Derick Queen at the draft, only for the 20-year-old to suffer a wrist injury that will delay the start of his rookie season.
In an interview with Jake Fischer of The Stein Line in December last year, former Pelicans guard and reigning Most Improved player Dyson Daniels labelled the franchise "cursed" when it comes to their injury problems.
“I had like four or five ankle injuries down there as well. There’s something down in that water down there or something," Daniels said. "They got hamstrings. They got knees. They got concussions and stuff as well. They get everything down there. I don’t know what it is. Playing hard I guess?”
That curse Daniels speaks of has now painfully extended to Looney before the 3x NBA champion even makes his regular season debut. The irony to this is that the 29-year-old had overcome early injuries in his career to become one of the most durable players in the league, having incredibly played in 289-straight regular season and playoff games -- a streak that was only broken in March last year because Steve Kerr pulled him from the rotation.
This is a less than ideal start for Looney after signing a two-year, $16 million contract with the Pelicans in free agency, having departed the Warriors after a decade in which he left an indelible mark on the franchise.