The Golden State Warriors need Kevon Looney to win another title

When you think of the Golden State Warriors, you think of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. However, as Game 5 of the series against the Boston Celtics showed, the Warriors need to be able to rely on their supporting cast if they want to win another championship.

This does not just include Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, and Gary Payton II, who already proved their ability to impact games. Center Kevon Looney is the Warriors’ unsung hero of this NBA Finals.

The Golden State Warriors need Kevon Looney to win another title

Looney is only averaging 6.0 points this postseason, but he is also contributing 7.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists. The big man’s rebounding skills are the biggest asset he has to offer the Warriors. He secures 21.62% of all available rebounds during his minutes on the court. With that percentage, Looney ranks 44th all-time for the best rebound rate in a single postseason.

These impressive numbers are the result of Looney’s training with assistant coach Dejan Milojević, which also allowed him to reach such a big improvement since the Warriors’ last playoff run.

Now, Looney is crucial to the team’s success. Thanks to him, they are the fifth-best rebounding team this postseason. Leading the league in rebounds per 36-minutes, Looney has been securing the team many second chances, and in turn, taking away their opponents’ chances to redeem a missed shot.

In Game 6 against the Memphis Grizzlies, Looney recorded 22 rebounds. One rebound late in the game resulted in a three from Klay Thompson, which was important in securing the win. Looney shows a high IQ in these situations, as he knows which passes to make and where to find Curry and Thompson for open shots.

During his time at Golden State, Looney has also learned to anticipate the way the ball will bounce when Curry and Thompson miss the occasional shot. This grants him the opportunity to get in the right position early and get an advantage over the defense.

This skill is also reflected in the team’s statistics. When Looney is on the bench but Curry, Thompson, Green, and Wiggins are all still playing, the Warriors’ rebounding percentage drops by almost ten percent.

Looney is proving his worth, especially against Boston. In Game 4 he had to give up his starting spot to Otto Porter Jr., but as soon as he stepped onto the court, he secured five rebounds in the first couple of minutes. He continued to play after that because Coach Steve Kerr did not want to repeat the mistake from Game 3 when Looney spent too many costly minutes on the bench.

The big man has proven himself to be crucial to the Warriors’ success in other areas than rebounding, too. Defensively, Looney turned out to be a real asset. The lineup of Curry, Thompson, Green, Wiggins, and Looney is holding the Celtics to just 39% shooting.

With his size and 7’4” wingspan, Looney is a scary rim protector and capable perimeter defender. All series long, he has been controlling Celtic’s center Robert Williams III under the basket and limiting his numbers. Well aware of his presence in the paint, the Celtics are often bringing Looney to the perimeter in order to open up lanes to the basket. Looney has not disappointed in these situations, though, and held his own so far, even against an explosive forward like Jayson Tatum.

Looney’s offensive impact is a little more subtle but still felt by his teammates and opponents. In the 28 minutes Looney played in Game 4, Golden State outscored Boston by 12 points in the paint. When Looney was on the bench, they were outscored by six points. Besides that, Looney is good in pick and roll plays. With his screens, he assisted on a series high of 46 points up until now.

When players are on a team with the likes of Stephen Curry, it is easy for them to fade into the background, but this title will not be won by the stars alone. If the Golden State Warriors are going to win another championship, they will need Kevon Looney to be at his best and dominate the paint.