"It’s time for me to shoot threes" - Warriors veteran planning for huge development

After losing his starting center role and then a spot in the rotation completely at times over the second half of last season, Kevon Looney knows he needs to adapt his game to re-establish his standing as a vital on-court player for the Golden State Warriors.

Fans noticed a visibly trimmed down Looney is an instagram post on Monday, and it seems that may be reflective of the 28-year-old's hopes of revitalizing his game over this offseason.

Golden State Warriors fans can expect Kevon Looney to be taking more mid-range and three-point jump-shots next season

In a recent interview speaking with NBA Insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, Looney outlined his wish to start shooting threes and taking more mid-range shots to help diversify his game.

“It’s something that I’ve been practicing for years, but now it’s time for me to shoot threes, shoot more midranges," Looney told Robinson. "Steve wanted me to improve in that area so I mean, I’ve been shooting a lot of shots and feeling good about my game and so it’s going to be a lot of surprises next year.” 

Looney's perimeter game was notable in high school and in his lone year at UCLA, having shot 41.5% on 1.5 three-point attempts during his collegiate season. Since then, the nine-year veteran's game has changed remarkably, owing largely to hip injuries that limited his mobility and transformed him into more of an inside bruising center.

Looney took 10, 14 and 17 three-point attempts in three seasons between 2018 and 2020, but has taken just one in each of past three years. The 3x champion is a combined 10-of-60 (16.7%) from three-point range in his 523-game career.

Even Looney's mid-range has whittled away in recent seasons -- he took 55 field-goal attempts from 10 feet or beyond in 2021-22, but that's reduced to 29 and 22 attempts in the past two years. He managed to remain impactful despite this, particularly during a career-best year in 2022-23, but the lack of spacing between he and Draymond Green in the front court proved too restrictive to overcome last season.

Looney's shooting development is sure to be a fascinating storyline across training camp and preseason, with the veteran center no guarantee to be part of Steve Kerr's rotation on opening night against the Portland Trail Blazers.