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Kevon Looney continues to earn his spot on Warriors roster

By David Passinsky

TARRYTOWN, NY - AUGUST 08: Kevon Looney #36 of the Golden State Warriors poses for a portrait during the 2015 NBA rookie photo shoot on August 8, 2015 at the Madison Square Garden Training Facility in Tarrytown, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
TARRYTOWN, NY - AUGUST 08: Kevon Looney #36 of the Golden State Warriors poses for a portrait during the 2015 NBA rookie photo shoot on August 8, 2015 at the Madison Square Garden Training Facility in Tarrytown, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images) /
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Kevon Looney has made his presence felt in these playoffs and continues to earn his roster spot game in and game out.

Kevon Looney, the Golden State Warriors‘ position-less forward/center hybrid, continued to make a name for himself this week among the NBA elite.

There are few ways to earn recognition with a national audience greater than listening to the halftime crew argue about you — even if the argument is about whether or not they know who you are.

Looney, to be fair though, hardly arrived on the scene as a sure thing.

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After only playing six games during his rookie season because of injuries, it wasn’t ever a sure thing that he would even play on this Golden State roster.  The following year, Kevon barely managed to see the court as as he only played in 53 games, averaging under ten minutes per game, with most of those minutes coming in garbage time.

You can’t really fault GM Bob Meyers for not exercising Looney’s player option for the 2018-2019 season. From a front office perspective, it just seemed like given the constant string of injuries, Looney would never be healthy enough to become a real contributor.

It seems though, that the table have turned in just two months.

Kevon Looney has had a renaissance during these playoffs — a Kevonaissance™ if you will.  After wondering if he would ever actually play, he is now averaging 21.3 minutes per game.

For those of you who might be mathematically challenged, that’s almost half, yes almost half of all the minutes in a ballgame.

Per 36 minutes of action, Looney is pulling in more offensive boards than the reigning defensive player of the year, Draymond Green. And he is contesting more shots.

He has a higher true shooting percentage than Klay Thompson. He is moving at a higher pace than Kevin Durant, and has more blocks than Stephen Curry.

Ok, that last one isn’t really impressive, but all it takes is the eye test to really see how much Looney has contributed during these playoffs.

Looney has effectively relegated Zaza Pachulia to the bench.

Next: What Draymond Green And Fertilizer Have In Common

The decision to waive his 2018-2019 player option, which would have cost the Golden State Warriors less than $3 million, may be GM Bob Meyers biggest mistake this season.

Given his level of play right now, Looney has set himself up for a huge payday next season.

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