Former UCLA Big Man Kevon Looney Helps Golden State Warriors Beat Memphis Grizzlies
Kevon Looney, after spending six years as a role player, finally ascended to being an everyday starter this season.
That is, until the Western Conference Semifinals.
The former UCLA men's basketball big and current Golden State Warriors veteran started 80 of his team's 82 regular season games, as well as their first four playoff games earlier this spring. But once the Warriors got matched up with the Memphis Grizzlies, Looney moved into more of a bench role.
Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, however, told the coaching staff that they thought Looney would better serve the team in the starting lineup for Game 6 on Friday night. As it turned out, they were right, as Golden State strung together a 110-96 victory that pushed them to the Western Conference Finals for the sixth time in the last eight years.
Looney played a major part, recording 22 rebounds in 35 minutes of action – both of which were new career-highs for the former Bruin, playoffs or regular season. Boasting 11 offensive boards and 11 defensive, Looney helped the Warriors reach 70 rebounds as a team, which is more than any team had in a single game all season long.
The Warriors got beat on the boards 55-37 in a Game 5 loss, then flipped that 18-rebound deficit into a 26-rebound advantage two nights later thanks to Looney's contributions.
"I just wanted to go out there and play physical," Looney told NBC Sports. "Last game, we got bullied on the boards, so I took that personal and wanted to go out there and do my job and set the tone from the beginning of the game."
Looney certainly started off on the right foot, reeling in 11 rebounds in the first quarter alone. That set a new Warriors record, and his 22 on the night were the most the franchise had gotten out of a single player since 1987.
Klay Thompson even gave Looney a new nickname in his postgame press conference, dubbing him "Kevon Looajuwon," in reference to Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon.
Back in his college days, Looney was similarly known for his rebounding prowess.
Looney was a McDonald's All-American and was the headliner of UCLA's 2014 recruiting class. UCLA was only ranked in the top 25 one week all season Looney's freshman year, but the team made the Sweet 16 and Looney carried the load down low to help them rank top 30 in the country in rebounding.
On the season, Looney averaged 11.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, starting all 36 contests for the Bruins. Looney had 16 games with double-figure rebounds, topping out at 19 against Stanford on Jan. 8, 2015.
Looney left Westwood after one season, and the Warriors selected him with the No. 30 overall pick in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft. After rarely seeing the court his rookie year, Looney slowly worked his way up through the rotation and earned a few scattered starts over the years.
The 2021-2022 campaign was one of Looney's most productive yet, averaging 6.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game on 57.1% shooting from the field. For his career, Looney is now averaging 4.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game across 367 regular season appearances.
At age 26, Looney already has two NBA championship rings, and he is just eight wins away from securing a third.
The Warriors will either face the Phoenix Suns or Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals, depending on who wins that series' Game 7 on Sunday.
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