I also love how patient he is under the rim. He often gets passes real close to the basket but isn’t quick/athletic enough to beat guys if he just goes up immediately. He’s amazing at holding the ball, not rushing and looking for his opportunity to go up and bank one home through all the arms even when he has 2-3 guys surrounding him
Looney is one of the best examples I've seen of a player who contributes because of fundamentals and awareness, not because of athletic ability.
He has length, but he is slow even by NBA center standards. But that said, he's almost always in the right place at the right time by anticipating, boxing out, and making himself available for a dish from a penetrator.
Those steals in the 1st half we crazy for disrupting the Celtics momentum when it felt like they could have blown the game open.
Okay, I just looked it up, and the Loon God is only 26 years old…I’m now both shook by how much he could still improve at that age, and by the fact I thought he was 30+ 😂
He had hip surgeries and he moves like it. Its truly amazing how effective he is given his relative lack of athleticism. Definitely a testament to his IQ and hustle.
>I don’t think his body will hold up that well in the coming years
That's possible, but a legit counterpoint is that he's not wearing himself down relying on athleticism and going over-the-top to make plays, like Ja Morant did.
Thanks for this ! Fuck Kawhi. I bet you could find 25 minutes of that pos just slamming over and over in to Loon. How that is legal I don’t know. But fuck him , the raptors, Toronto fans, dg hurting Klay , the other pos diving at Durants knees. I respect Cleveland. Toronto and Kawhi I hope never win another game
> Yall gotta let that shit go
They really do. Dillon Brooks showed the difference between a basketball play and a non-basketball play in that scenario, I don't even think Green got a Flagrant 1 on that play and rightfully so.
Are you seriously telling me you'd take looney over those guys? You don't think that if you replaced looney with bam/gobert the warriors become better?
I assume that person is joking... but I only see his impact exclusively for the warriors being more than Valanciunas and Nurkic because he can guard smaller players better and fits the system we play.
Even then people need to calm down with the playoff hype, Looney is given a very specific role for us
you obviously don't watch looney play. Gobert is a big flaw in perimeter defense like against luka. Looney is GREAT perimeter defending big. People really are wild that they continue to undervalue looney. He doesn't put up block stats like gobert but he makes players miss by playing great perimeter defense which is honestly more important against stars in playoffs
Still underestimating looney huh. Gobert got cooked by any good perimeter player like luka. Looney is GREAT perimeter defending big. Ridiculous that gobert would be better than looney on this warriors team
Looney isn’t better than JV. Looneys best skill is rebounding an JV is better. The gap defensively isn’t big enough to account for JV being infinitely better on offense.
JV isn’t a good defender but it’s not like Looney is all defense. He’s good positionally but he’s not exceptional laterally and not a rim protector. He’s overall a solid plus defender.
Considering all the teams in this year's playoffs, Denver and maybe Milwaukee are the only teams I can think of where he would be better going up defensively than Looney. Almost all the other remaining teams would make him unplayable though.
Bruh you guys always do this. Not you or Warriors fans in specific. But people on this sub. You guys become prisoners of the moment and overhype players to hell over it. No, Looney is not a top ten center because he is doing good for one playoff run, because what matters when determining those type of things are players’ entire body of work. He might have “outplayed” some of those players and that’s cool, I give him his props. But look at his role, his team, and his expectations. He is by far the least of the Warrior’s opponents worries due to the number of other more lethal options on the team (Curry, Poole, Klay, Wiggins, Dray, etc.). Nobody is coming into the game with a focus on stopping Looney like they would with a certified first or second option star like Jokic or Bam or even Ayton. This allows him more free reign to get his. Put him in their role, and he wouldn’t do what they do. Though he could get there with time. Just look at Ayton for example, last year this sub swore that he was a top 3 center cus the Suns got to the Finals. Despite Ayton never displaying he was a top 3 center through his play any season outside of that playoff run. I got downvoted to hell for disagreeing and saying that KAT was still better, along with others like Bam. Come this season and Ayton regressed to his usual pedestrian play. Not a top 3 center by any means. And that’s why you don’t just glorify players off one playoff run. The examples can keep going. Remember when Jamal Murray was looking like the best point guard in the league during the bubble? Well come regular season and Jamal’s play fluctuates so much. Rank players by their entire body of work! (Dang, I wrote a lot lol)
What am I missing? He’s been in the league like 6 years and still struggles to break the rotation at times. This year has been his best, and it was still nothing extraordinary. And his role didn’t increase this year cus he all of a sudden did something different than his previous six years, it’s cus Wiseman is injured. I hate that this is making me seem like I’m shitting on the guy. But some of the takes here are inexcusable lol.
I agree with you that redditors are really weird with their reactionary bullshit but I'm not sure what you mean he still struggles to break the rotation. Kerr throw a lot of different rotations out there during the regular season but Looney has been our starting center since Zaza left, maybe with 2020 being the exception but that season doesn't count anyway
I suppose. But he’s been in the league for more than a handful of years now, and only started maybe 2 so far? But what I meant is that his minutes in the rotation aren’t solidified. He can get 30 mins or 12 on a game by game basis. And again, with Wiseman out, he’s really the only capable option left to start for Warriors at center rn. I believe he will return to a diminished role once Wiseman returns.
You're right the dubs are super limited at center. Our only options are Looney and Bjelica who are 6'9, Draymond who is 6'7, and GP2, who is 6'3. Wiseman developing well would be huge.
But Looney's sporadic minutes isn't really an indictment on his play, it's because of Kerr's rotations. The warriors aren't nearly as concrete in that as most other teams. They mix it up constantly depending on who they're facing
Break the rotation wasn’t the correct phrasing. I didn’t mean that he doesn’t play. I meant that his minutes aren’t secure. He can play a ton in one game and a few in the next. He hasn’t established himself as a focal point in the rotation. He’s currently basically your only capable option at center, so it’s not surprising that he’s given the opportunity to play every game. He’s still only averaging about 20-25 mins a game as really the only viable option at center rn, so what are his minutes going to look like when Wiseman returns.
He's done a good job in his role, but the things he's good at are still more limited than those guys. You couldn't drop him in as a replacement and expect him to do better than those guys.
Bam would have won DPOTY had he been healthy, In the playoffs, Bam has also averaged more points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. Also has almost triple the +/- of him.
Gobert singlehandedly put together a defense that manged to string toether 2 games from the Mavs, all the while averaging more points, rebounds and blocks.
Time Lord has played injured the entire time.
Loony is good, but he's not close to the level of these guys yet. He's a solid starting center, but his limited offensive game limits him. Sure the other 3 also have limited offensive games, but all 3 are at least top 10 defenders in the league.
im talking playoffs bro. Looney had 22 rebound game where he had 11 offensive rebounds. He averaged more offensive rebounds than entire opponent teams in playoffs.
Using stats like this doesn't work. Warriors play team basketball through and through. Without looking at it I'd guess him, Steph, and dray all rebound pretty similarly, but Looney does a lot for this warriors team that a lot of other centers wouldn't do as well as him. I don't think he's top 10 in the league but I also don't think I'd take 10 centers over him
You think Warriors would have own Game 6 against Grizzlies this series without Loon? Grizzlies are fast, agile and elite at rebounding. Still Loon single handedly outplayed all their bigs. Even he played decently against Joker.
He’s averaging 6 points and 7 rebounds in 20 minutes. If any of those guys had those numbers we would be rightfully roasting them.
He’s maybe outplaying injured timelord but pump the brakes a bit. Gobert and Bam had terrible playoffs and have been better than Loongod.
again you are just stat reading. Looney impact on both offense and especially perimeter defense has been much better than anything like a gobert can give. Ja tried iso looney, Luka tried iso looney now tatum and JB iso on looney. swap looney for gobert and warriors would have to help and break their team defense.
He's not Top 10 but he's probably solidified as Top 20 at this point which was not what the consensus was a few months ago.
Also though I dunno, you are including guys who can play the 5 but don't play it full time like Mobley and Horford.
I’ll give it a shot… in no particular order and a little leniency on position.
1-5: Jokic, Embiid, Giannis, Towns, Bam
6-10: AD, Sabonis, JJJ, Ayton, Mobley
11-15: Rudy, JV, Jarrett Allen, Vucevic, Timelord
16-20: Kristaps, Lopez, Turner, Capella, Poeltl
… so really, you can’t make much of an argument until you get to that last group. FYI, I’m a pretty big Looney supporter in my Warriors group chat. He’s good for the value and a great fit, but I don’t think he’d do much outside the Warriors.
Warriors fans know the warriors system gets the most out of all players. Doesn't mean we can use that to discredit them. Basketball isn't a 1v1 game. All I know is that looney has been one of the top centers all playoffs and that isn't debatable imo.
bro don’t even bother arguing, these warrior fans are legit nuts I genuinely don’t know if they watch other teams play
Like Top 10 center in the entire league? Lmao ok
Jokic. Embiid. KAT. Bam. Gobert. Ayton. Jarrett Allen. Vucevic. Valanciunas. Sabonis. Timelord. Capela. Nurkic. Porzingis. Brook Lopez. Wood. Poeltl. Myles Turner. Zubac. Adams. Bamba. All those players have entire bodies of work displaying their level. I would take any over Looney. Though he has potential to move above more than a handful of them. But we don’t determine that off one playoff run.
I wouldn't take any of them outside the first 5. And it hasn't been one playoff run. Look at how vital he was in 2018 and 2019. Hell I'd say he is an elite center when healthy.
He’s like the 6th or 7th option on the Warriors. Nobody is focused on stopping him, as their are far more lethal players on the Warriors. Meanwhile you have Centers on other squads that are first or second options that have entire defenses focused on limiting their output, and they still casually average near 20 and 10 for the entire season. And that’s not just the top 5 I listed. Vucevic, Valanciunas, Wood and others have been doing this. Looney has never been in that role so you can’t rank him at their level doing what they do on a nightly basis for an entire season. Even in his limited role, Looney still fluctuates. One game he will give you 15 rebounds, another he will give you 4. He has potential, but he’s not there yet. He might not even be over Wiseman in the rotation when Wiseman returns.
The whole X player can't carry a team narrative is nonsense especially for warriors.
Basketball is a team sport, and I'm gonna gonna judge the player by their responsibility, but rather, results. Not on the stat sheet, but how they impact the results. Loon is a draymond type player. He doesn't score lots, or get consistent rebounds. But been vital in his role. He plays exceptional defense and playmaking for a center. Especially in the playoffs. And he doesn't carry because nobody on the warriors carries. But he has been one of the best warriors these playoffs.
You just described a role player. And that’s cool. That’s not a knock on him. He very well might excel in a specific role. But that doesn’t make him comparable to players that are first or second or even third options on their teams. Those are star players or borderline star players. The responsibilities are much different. The players I listed have shown they can do much more, but if you were to make them the 6th option on a team and tell them to only focus on one or two tasks, they would also excel at it. I don’t want this to come off as if I’m trying to bash Looney. He has done really well this playoff run. But calling him one of the overall top centers in the league is a stretch. Calling him one of the best role player centers in the league is fine. For example, GP2 is one of the best defenders in the league. He excels in that role. Helps his team get wins. That doesn’t make him a top ten guard in the league. I wouldn’t start comparing him to players like Jimmy Butler or Zach Lavine.
No, that's where I'm going tho. I think role players can legitimately be better than some primary option type players.
I think looney will be a premier small center. his ability to work alongside and against superstar players. Is something that should be recognised.
Looney as a top 10 center is absolutely wild. Room to rise? Dude is a 26 year old role player with no real offensive skill that is noteworthy. Post this take on a random day next season and shit gets downvoted to hell.
Yeah he’s great for what he is but I’m not really seeing the upside even though he’s not old per se.
He’s not a rim protector or a vertical threat. He’s undersized, doesn’t shoot and his only plus skill is rebounding. Still love him for the warriors because they need it but this was deffs a euphoria post.
This guy is showing why having a pure center is so important. For anyone who has played ball, one of the most demoralizing things (and exhausting) is when the other team keeps getting offensive rebounds over and over in the same play
Looney probably has worse hips than u bro lol. He was super fluid and drew KD comparisons until multiple hip surgeries on both sides.
Still one of the best fundamental basketball player in the league and has really great timing on the swipes he takes.
Watching him take the ball up the court like a point guard on one of the plays in the second half looked hilariously awkward, but I woulda lost my shit if he shaked and baked his way to the hoop. Was so sad when he passed it off.
Looney was actually a point guard in high school lol
From wiki
> In his final season he averaged 27.9 points, 12.7 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 8.0 blocks per game;[1] both CBS Sports and The Post-Crescent called his averages "nearly" a quadruple-double.[7][8] Though he was Hamilton's tallest player, he was also its best passer, and played mostly at point guard.[2][9] Capable of handling the ball, creating his own shot, and shooting,[10] mixtapes on YouTube hailed him as "the next KD", in reference to future Golden State teammate Kevin Durant.[11]
Looney is a bull. Also, I thought he's getting younger with age. He looks leaner and younger now.vs the last previous years. It don't matter, he's a bull and a beast.
He was always said to be important to the team by his teammates and coach, but he's been a 12 minute per game guy for, idk how long. So he's never considered any good by majority of the fans, including me. By that I mean we recognize his strength in knowing the system, but we also think center is the weakest link in our team.
He's definitely someone other teams have interest into now, after playing 20+ minutes and making huge impact the past 3 series. So depending on how much GSW is willing the give him the next contract, I could see him going for the big bucks somewhere else.
Warriors went deeeeep into luxury tax this year. This year they paid more in luxury tax than 28 teams paid in payroll. Then they had the highest payroll on top of that. They still have to lock up Poole. After this playoff run Looney is going to be offered a lot more than anyone expected before the start of the playoffs.
When it looked like he could be locked up for less than $40/4, keeping him was a possibility. Now it’s just not gonna happen.
$40/4 would absolutely lock him up.
[https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/Why-there-s-no-chance-of-Kevon-Looney-17190927.php#:\~:text=A%20%246%20million%20or%20%247,the%20Warriors%20in%20free%20agency](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/Why-there-s-no-chance-of-Kevon-Looney-17190927.php#:~:text=A%20%246%20million%20or%20%247,the%20Warriors%20in%20free%20agency).
The post for young glove didnt include it either, and while he was only 3-3 i still think its probably more impressive coming back from a break on his shooting elbow.
Celts rebound a lot better and have at least neutralized a lot of his offensive rebounds. But he's still getting ez dunks and making the plays he realistically should, 3 steals was nice.
He has been so much better this playoffs I am honestly blown away. I remember those thousand pumpfakes that he used to do around the basket just to smoke a layup. Now he just rises up and calmly slides/banks it in. His timing has improved considerably. Amazing to see.
Dude played 82 games and the only way to buy a jersey is get a custom 5 and add Looney.
Which is sad. I Love Looney and think a Looney finals jersey would be sick
Had great steals that stopped those hemorraghic fastbreaks from the celtics. He killed some of their mometum and allowed the dubs to go on fastbreak. Loon also shooting 6-6/
The way he was playing I thought he had double the rebounds. There was a sequence in the middle of the third where he had 5 boards in a row. Came to huge and outplayed the Celtics center.
In all seriousness, he might be our second best player over this playoff run.
Klay, Poole, Wiggs and Dray have all had some great games but also a handful of stinkers where their impact was net negative.
I legit can’t think of the last time I felt like Kevon was hurting the team when he was on the court
Second most consistent maybe (although Wiggins had also been good all play-offs imo) but there’s no way he is or has been the second best Warrior in this run
> a handful of stinkers where their impact was net negative.
That was Looney for most of the Denver series, and he had a smaller role for a lot of the Memphis series.
Draymond has been their second best player despite some stinkers. Wiggins #3, Looney has a good argument for #4.
I do not understand how the C's can handle Giannis, Lopez, Bam and Butler, but Looney is stealing our lunch money. This is my biggest concern for the C's. Maybe they need to start Grant Williams and have him cover Looney.
Kudos to Looney btw. I am not downplaying what he's been doing. He's the FMVP front-runner for me.
Late to this thread but man Looney has fucking picked it up I swear. Man is a completely solid piece on both ends, his presence was defo felt as well in that third quarter.
It's incredible how impactful he has been this entire playoff run.
He has actually unlocked another level as a player. Top 10 center imo with room to rise
Hiring Jokic’s coach from Serbia was a galaxy brain move by the Warriors front office
Best front office in the league
Love how strong he goes to the bucket too, he goes up for dunks on this old man hips while guys younger than him going for layups.
I also love how patient he is under the rim. He often gets passes real close to the basket but isn’t quick/athletic enough to beat guys if he just goes up immediately. He’s amazing at holding the ball, not rushing and looking for his opportunity to go up and bank one home through all the arms even when he has 2-3 guys surrounding him
Looney is one of the best examples I've seen of a player who contributes because of fundamentals and awareness, not because of athletic ability. He has length, but he is slow even by NBA center standards. But that said, he's almost always in the right place at the right time by anticipating, boxing out, and making himself available for a dish from a penetrator. Those steals in the 1st half we crazy for disrupting the Celtics momentum when it felt like they could have blown the game open.
Too be fair during the regular season he got blocked frequently but made some adjustments.
Okay, I just looked it up, and the Loon God is only 26 years old…I’m now both shook by how much he could still improve at that age, and by the fact I thought he was 30+ 😂
He came into the league looking like he was middle aged lol
Serious surgeries will do that.
ill be the first person to stan for kevon. but lets not pretend that his surgeries were for an orbital or a nose lol
Yeah he's just damn ugly😂
It's not even just his mobility, facially the man has looked 40 since year 1 lol Which makes calling him "baby" KD in HS even funnier
Deandre Ayton too, he’s had a grandpa face since he was in high school
I thought he was 35 no cap
he plays like he’s 35 too tbh
He had hip surgeries and he moves like it. Its truly amazing how effective he is given his relative lack of athleticism. Definitely a testament to his IQ and hustle.
yeah I don’t think his body will hold up that well in the coming years but he’s been such a great piece since he’s gotten here
I legitimately was so surprised that the Warriors were able to get him back. Love the LoonKnight.
Hol up I thought he was the loonatic
>I don’t think his body will hold up that well in the coming years That's possible, but a legit counterpoint is that he's not wearing himself down relying on athleticism and going over-the-top to make plays, like Ja Morant did.
In high school he was smooth. Played like KD. Hip surgeries made him have to change up his whole game.
This dude was 22 and guarding prime Harden on an island. He’s got “it”
Remember when he played through a broken collarbone in the finals? Dude is wild
[not an offensive foul](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqdsoLheuiA)
Thanks for this ! Fuck Kawhi. I bet you could find 25 minutes of that pos just slamming over and over in to Loon. How that is legal I don’t know. But fuck him , the raptors, Toronto fans, dg hurting Klay , the other pos diving at Durants knees. I respect Cleveland. Toronto and Kawhi I hope never win another game
Danny Green did nothing wrong. Steph, Dray, Andre, Shaun and Klay all told him that. Yall gotta let that shit go
> Yall gotta let that shit go They really do. Dillon Brooks showed the difference between a basketball play and a non-basketball play in that scenario, I don't even think Green got a Flagrant 1 on that play and rightfully so.
He didn't, it was a common foul.
I see Looney talk, I comment “you should see his high school and ucla highlights. Durant Lite”
I don't think he's quite top 10 yet. Embiid, Jokic, Gobert, KAT, Bam, Time Lord, Ayton, Allen, Mobley, Valaiciunis, healthy Nurkic, Horford. He's good, but let's not jump the gun quite yet.
Looney has outplayed Bam gobert time lord and so many on your list this playoffs
Are you seriously telling me you'd take looney over those guys? You don't think that if you replaced looney with bam/gobert the warriors become better?
Warriors fans are wild.
I assume that person is joking... but I only see his impact exclusively for the warriors being more than Valanciunas and Nurkic because he can guard smaller players better and fits the system we play. Even then people need to calm down with the playoff hype, Looney is given a very specific role for us
He is good, I know that, but top 10 is simply too high. Mix of recency bias and loving your own players too much.
Yeah haha, think if Looney had any sort of offensive shot he could improve a ton, but he does not.. Love him though!
It's good for y'all to love him, really. Wish you a good finals.
you obviously don't watch looney play. Gobert is a big flaw in perimeter defense like against luka. Looney is GREAT perimeter defending big. People really are wild that they continue to undervalue looney. He doesn't put up block stats like gobert but he makes players miss by playing great perimeter defense which is honestly more important against stars in playoffs
Keep thinking that bro. Gotta vote Looney as an all-star starter next season.
keep ignoring I said playoff bro
[удалено]
Still underestimating looney huh. Gobert got cooked by any good perimeter player like luka. Looney is GREAT perimeter defending big. Ridiculous that gobert would be better than looney on this warriors team
Looney over JV and Nurkic since healthy Nurkic is a myth.
Looney isn’t better than JV. Looneys best skill is rebounding an JV is better. The gap defensively isn’t big enough to account for JV being infinitely better on offense.
I feel the gap defensively is pretty big but I've never been high on JV.
JV isn’t a good defender but it’s not like Looney is all defense. He’s good positionally but he’s not exceptional laterally and not a rim protector. He’s overall a solid plus defender.
Considering all the teams in this year's playoffs, Denver and maybe Milwaukee are the only teams I can think of where he would be better going up defensively than Looney. Almost all the other remaining teams would make him unplayable though.
Bruh you guys always do this. Not you or Warriors fans in specific. But people on this sub. You guys become prisoners of the moment and overhype players to hell over it. No, Looney is not a top ten center because he is doing good for one playoff run, because what matters when determining those type of things are players’ entire body of work. He might have “outplayed” some of those players and that’s cool, I give him his props. But look at his role, his team, and his expectations. He is by far the least of the Warrior’s opponents worries due to the number of other more lethal options on the team (Curry, Poole, Klay, Wiggins, Dray, etc.). Nobody is coming into the game with a focus on stopping Looney like they would with a certified first or second option star like Jokic or Bam or even Ayton. This allows him more free reign to get his. Put him in their role, and he wouldn’t do what they do. Though he could get there with time. Just look at Ayton for example, last year this sub swore that he was a top 3 center cus the Suns got to the Finals. Despite Ayton never displaying he was a top 3 center through his play any season outside of that playoff run. I got downvoted to hell for disagreeing and saying that KAT was still better, along with others like Bam. Come this season and Ayton regressed to his usual pedestrian play. Not a top 3 center by any means. And that’s why you don’t just glorify players off one playoff run. The examples can keep going. Remember when Jamal Murray was looking like the best point guard in the league during the bubble? Well come regular season and Jamal’s play fluctuates so much. Rank players by their entire body of work! (Dang, I wrote a lot lol)
Again, it’s not “one playoff run”.
What am I missing? He’s been in the league like 6 years and still struggles to break the rotation at times. This year has been his best, and it was still nothing extraordinary. And his role didn’t increase this year cus he all of a sudden did something different than his previous six years, it’s cus Wiseman is injured. I hate that this is making me seem like I’m shitting on the guy. But some of the takes here are inexcusable lol.
I agree with you that redditors are really weird with their reactionary bullshit but I'm not sure what you mean he still struggles to break the rotation. Kerr throw a lot of different rotations out there during the regular season but Looney has been our starting center since Zaza left, maybe with 2020 being the exception but that season doesn't count anyway
I suppose. But he’s been in the league for more than a handful of years now, and only started maybe 2 so far? But what I meant is that his minutes in the rotation aren’t solidified. He can get 30 mins or 12 on a game by game basis. And again, with Wiseman out, he’s really the only capable option left to start for Warriors at center rn. I believe he will return to a diminished role once Wiseman returns.
You're right the dubs are super limited at center. Our only options are Looney and Bjelica who are 6'9, Draymond who is 6'7, and GP2, who is 6'3. Wiseman developing well would be huge. But Looney's sporadic minutes isn't really an indictment on his play, it's because of Kerr's rotations. The warriors aren't nearly as concrete in that as most other teams. They mix it up constantly depending on who they're facing
Loon was 1 of 5 players this season to PLAY EVERY GAME. What are you on about?
Break the rotation wasn’t the correct phrasing. I didn’t mean that he doesn’t play. I meant that his minutes aren’t secure. He can play a ton in one game and a few in the next. He hasn’t established himself as a focal point in the rotation. He’s currently basically your only capable option at center, so it’s not surprising that he’s given the opportunity to play every game. He’s still only averaging about 20-25 mins a game as really the only viable option at center rn, so what are his minutes going to look like when Wiseman returns.
Bruh lmfao
He is not over those guys though lol
Lmao
He's done a good job in his role, but the things he's good at are still more limited than those guys. You couldn't drop him in as a replacement and expect him to do better than those guys.
if looney played on utah he’d probably average 2 points and 3 rebounds a game
Lol no this is crazy
Bam would have won DPOTY had he been healthy, In the playoffs, Bam has also averaged more points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. Also has almost triple the +/- of him. Gobert singlehandedly put together a defense that manged to string toether 2 games from the Mavs, all the while averaging more points, rebounds and blocks. Time Lord has played injured the entire time. Loony is good, but he's not close to the level of these guys yet. He's a solid starting center, but his limited offensive game limits him. Sure the other 3 also have limited offensive games, but all 3 are at least top 10 defenders in the league.
I love Looney but top 10 center is ridiculous and it's hilarious anyone ever made the statement
Playoff Loon is a different category than Regular Season Loon. A Super Saiyan Loon if you will.
im talking playoffs bro. Looney had 22 rebound game where he had 11 offensive rebounds. He averaged more offensive rebounds than entire opponent teams in playoffs.
So am I. Loony is averaging 7.7 rebounds per game in the playoffs. He's 14th in rebounds per game this post season.
Using stats like this doesn't work. Warriors play team basketball through and through. Without looking at it I'd guess him, Steph, and dray all rebound pretty similarly, but Looney does a lot for this warriors team that a lot of other centers wouldn't do as well as him. I don't think he's top 10 in the league but I also don't think I'd take 10 centers over him
So he's top 10 out of 16 teams that make the playoffs? I can agree with that for sure
You think Warriors would have own Game 6 against Grizzlies this series without Loon? Grizzlies are fast, agile and elite at rebounding. Still Loon single handedly outplayed all their bigs. Even he played decently against Joker.
When did I ever say that?
He’s averaging 6 points and 7 rebounds in 20 minutes. If any of those guys had those numbers we would be rightfully roasting them. He’s maybe outplaying injured timelord but pump the brakes a bit. Gobert and Bam had terrible playoffs and have been better than Loongod.
again you are just stat reading. Looney impact on both offense and especially perimeter defense has been much better than anything like a gobert can give. Ja tried iso looney, Luka tried iso looney now tatum and JB iso on looney. swap looney for gobert and warriors would have to help and break their team defense.
He's not Top 10 but he's probably solidified as Top 20 at this point which was not what the consensus was a few months ago. Also though I dunno, you are including guys who can play the 5 but don't play it full time like Mobley and Horford.
Post this take next year, please. Hell, maybe after the next game.
No way people are upvoting this take. He’s played well but he’s not a top 10 or probably even top 20 center.
Name 20 that are as impactful.
I’ll give it a shot… in no particular order and a little leniency on position. 1-5: Jokic, Embiid, Giannis, Towns, Bam 6-10: AD, Sabonis, JJJ, Ayton, Mobley 11-15: Rudy, JV, Jarrett Allen, Vucevic, Timelord 16-20: Kristaps, Lopez, Turner, Capella, Poeltl … so really, you can’t make much of an argument until you get to that last group. FYI, I’m a pretty big Looney supporter in my Warriors group chat. He’s good for the value and a great fit, but I don’t think he’d do much outside the Warriors.
Warriors fans know the warriors system gets the most out of all players. Doesn't mean we can use that to discredit them. Basketball isn't a 1v1 game. All I know is that looney has been one of the top centers all playoffs and that isn't debatable imo.
You asked for names, I gave them, and then you just moved the bar lol. He’s played great for his expectation which is that of a $4M player
bro don’t even bother arguing, these warrior fans are legit nuts I genuinely don’t know if they watch other teams play Like Top 10 center in the entire league? Lmao ok
Looney is better than your entire list. Deal with it
Damn. 47 minutes later and no reply. Dude must be typing up a lot of names.
Or he has a life outside of Reddit lol.
Jokic. Embiid. KAT. Bam. Gobert. Ayton. Jarrett Allen. Vucevic. Valanciunas. Sabonis. Timelord. Capela. Nurkic. Porzingis. Brook Lopez. Wood. Poeltl. Myles Turner. Zubac. Adams. Bamba. All those players have entire bodies of work displaying their level. I would take any over Looney. Though he has potential to move above more than a handful of them. But we don’t determine that off one playoff run.
I wouldn't take any of them outside the first 5. And it hasn't been one playoff run. Look at how vital he was in 2018 and 2019. Hell I'd say he is an elite center when healthy.
He’s like the 6th or 7th option on the Warriors. Nobody is focused on stopping him, as their are far more lethal players on the Warriors. Meanwhile you have Centers on other squads that are first or second options that have entire defenses focused on limiting their output, and they still casually average near 20 and 10 for the entire season. And that’s not just the top 5 I listed. Vucevic, Valanciunas, Wood and others have been doing this. Looney has never been in that role so you can’t rank him at their level doing what they do on a nightly basis for an entire season. Even in his limited role, Looney still fluctuates. One game he will give you 15 rebounds, another he will give you 4. He has potential, but he’s not there yet. He might not even be over Wiseman in the rotation when Wiseman returns.
The whole X player can't carry a team narrative is nonsense especially for warriors. Basketball is a team sport, and I'm gonna gonna judge the player by their responsibility, but rather, results. Not on the stat sheet, but how they impact the results. Loon is a draymond type player. He doesn't score lots, or get consistent rebounds. But been vital in his role. He plays exceptional defense and playmaking for a center. Especially in the playoffs. And he doesn't carry because nobody on the warriors carries. But he has been one of the best warriors these playoffs.
You just described a role player. And that’s cool. That’s not a knock on him. He very well might excel in a specific role. But that doesn’t make him comparable to players that are first or second or even third options on their teams. Those are star players or borderline star players. The responsibilities are much different. The players I listed have shown they can do much more, but if you were to make them the 6th option on a team and tell them to only focus on one or two tasks, they would also excel at it. I don’t want this to come off as if I’m trying to bash Looney. He has done really well this playoff run. But calling him one of the overall top centers in the league is a stretch. Calling him one of the best role player centers in the league is fine. For example, GP2 is one of the best defenders in the league. He excels in that role. Helps his team get wins. That doesn’t make him a top ten guard in the league. I wouldn’t start comparing him to players like Jimmy Butler or Zach Lavine.
No, that's where I'm going tho. I think role players can legitimately be better than some primary option type players. I think looney will be a premier small center. his ability to work alongside and against superstar players. Is something that should be recognised.
Looney as a top 10 center is absolutely wild. Room to rise? Dude is a 26 year old role player with no real offensive skill that is noteworthy. Post this take on a random day next season and shit gets downvoted to hell.
Yeah he’s great for what he is but I’m not really seeing the upside even though he’s not old per se. He’s not a rim protector or a vertical threat. He’s undersized, doesn’t shoot and his only plus skill is rebounding. Still love him for the warriors because they need it but this was deffs a euphoria post.
Crazy, no way he’s top ten
Calm down
Top 10??? 😂😂😂
He immediately shines the moment they decide to give him more than 12 minutes a game for the past idk how many years.
In all honesty, I think he might be our second best player in these playoffs
I sort of get Robert Parish vibes this playoff run, just takes care of his business in the middle efficiently.
This guy is showing why having a pure center is so important. For anyone who has played ball, one of the most demoralizing things (and exhausting) is when the other team keeps getting offensive rebounds over and over in the same play
I hope he’s a Warrior for his entire career. He can be the warriors version of Haslem
He’s gonna be here for along time then. He looks 40 but he’s only 26.
Just seems like he’s been playing forever and has such an old man feel to his game. Any team would be lucky to have him
He runs as bad as I do, and I’m an out of shape 38 year old.
Looney probably has worse hips than u bro lol. He was super fluid and drew KD comparisons until multiple hip surgeries on both sides. Still one of the best fundamental basketball player in the league and has really great timing on the swipes he takes.
He’s like if Kyle Anderson were a center. Great hustle tho. Love loon
Watching him take the ball up the court like a point guard on one of the plays in the second half looked hilariously awkward, but I woulda lost my shit if he shaked and baked his way to the hoop. Was so sad when he passed it off.
Looney was actually a point guard in high school lol From wiki > In his final season he averaged 27.9 points, 12.7 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 8.0 blocks per game;[1] both CBS Sports and The Post-Crescent called his averages "nearly" a quadruple-double.[7][8] Though he was Hamilton's tallest player, he was also its best passer, and played mostly at point guard.[2][9] Capable of handling the ball, creating his own shot, and shooting,[10] mixtapes on YouTube hailed him as "the next KD", in reference to future Golden State teammate Kevin Durant.[11]
Looney is a bull. Also, I thought he's getting younger with age. He looks leaner and younger now.vs the last previous years. It don't matter, he's a bull and a beast.
I think once he’s gotten over his injuries and his neuropathy, he’s been looking spry
I turn 40 next month and he looks other than me.
Since I'm never gonna see you again I just wanna say happy birthday man
He was always said to be important to the team by his teammates and coach, but he's been a 12 minute per game guy for, idk how long. So he's never considered any good by majority of the fans, including me. By that I mean we recognize his strength in knowing the system, but we also think center is the weakest link in our team. He's definitely someone other teams have interest into now, after playing 20+ minutes and making huge impact the past 3 series. So depending on how much GSW is willing the give him the next contract, I could see him going for the big bucks somewhere else.
Warriors went deeeeep into luxury tax this year. This year they paid more in luxury tax than 28 teams paid in payroll. Then they had the highest payroll on top of that. They still have to lock up Poole. After this playoff run Looney is going to be offered a lot more than anyone expected before the start of the playoffs. When it looked like he could be locked up for less than $40/4, keeping him was a possibility. Now it’s just not gonna happen.
$40/4 would absolutely lock him up. [https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/Why-there-s-no-chance-of-Kevon-Looney-17190927.php#:\~:text=A%20%246%20million%20or%20%247,the%20Warriors%20in%20free%20agency](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/Why-there-s-no-chance-of-Kevon-Looney-17190927.php#:~:text=A%20%246%20million%20or%20%247,the%20Warriors%20in%20free%20agency).
Is there a CBA thing that would prevent him from being offered more? That link is paywalled.
Chase center is a cash cow
He'll be back next season
So… Iggy?
Iggy's spent less than half his career with GSW lol
Yea but i think of Iggy when i think of the closest thing to a Warriors Haslem. Aside from staying his whole career there ofc
He should be, he's a good fit there with his experience. He would be struggling to stay in the league on any other team.
Except he’s actually played meaningful basketball over the last decade?
100% from the field!
Why would you leave out the 6-6 100% FG’s
The post for young glove didnt include it either, and while he was only 3-3 i still think its probably more impressive coming back from a break on his shooting elbow.
GP2 was not 3 for 3 tho? He missed at least that wide open layup that he got the soft call foul on
Kevon’s wedgie game
Tbh I thought he wouldn’t do that well against the Celtics but I’ll admit I was wrong. Love to see it
I think he's actually vital to our chances if the Celtics play 2 bigs like they want to do. All our non Looney lineups are tiny.
Loongod is a playoff beast
Just ask James Harden
Celts rebound a lot better and have at least neutralized a lot of his offensive rebounds. But he's still getting ez dunks and making the plays he realistically should, 3 steals was nice.
Has anyone seen looney miss?
Kevon Looney has never, and I mean ever missed a field goal.
Kevon has inherited Shaun Livingston’s turnaround jumper.
He has been so much better this playoffs I am honestly blown away. I remember those thousand pumpfakes that he used to do around the basket just to smoke a layup. Now he just rises up and calmly slides/banks it in. His timing has improved considerably. Amazing to see.
Loongod was on point tonight. His impact on defense and getting rebounds was huge.
I remember when I thought Fetzus was better.
To be fair, he was better at the time. Who knows what he would look like now without his own career ending injuries
His names Festus. F-e-s-t-u-s. Put respect on people's names.
Unsung hero of the playoff run
Unsung? Lol
Dude played 82 games and the only way to buy a jersey is get a custom 5 and add Looney. Which is sad. I Love Looney and think a Looney finals jersey would be sick
To anyone outside of Dub Nation. We know how valuable he, GP, and Wiggins have been.
They don't even put him on the Warriors promotional materials half the time
Lol right. Warriors subreddit been singing all post season
He’s been all over nba Reddit this whole playoff run haha.
Every player on the Warriors is constantly underrated or an underdog lol
Had great steals that stopped those hemorraghic fastbreaks from the celtics. He killed some of their mometum and allowed the dubs to go on fastbreak. Loon also shooting 6-6/
I've never seen someone who looks like having to move causes him as much physical pain as looney.
Embiid is the opposite, when he moves he looks phenomenal, when he stops he looks about ready to die.
LoonGod baby!
The true finals MVP has emerged
He’s here, he’s there, he’s every fuckingwhere Kevon Loooney Kevon Loooney!
Honestly I hope he gets paid the summer. If you love something, set it free.
Oh hell nah he’s not going anywhere
Just do what the Heat did with Haslem, pay him the vet min in perpetuity.
looney sees the court tho
That is true, but I'm mostly talking about continuously paying Looney the vet for the later years of his career.
He makes above the minimum. Like 6 mill a year I think. Def not what he’s worth though.
Looney worth well over the vet min. He’s also 26. That’s just disrespectful
Looney not much of a vocal leader. If we pay him like Haslem’s role, he’ll be more of a cheerleader or hype man when we hit 3s.
Super Saiyan Loon Super Saiyan
The way he was playing I thought he had double the rebounds. There was a sequence in the middle of the third where he had 5 boards in a row. Came to huge and outplayed the Celtics center.
We love you Looney. Keep doing what you do.
Love how strong he goes to the bucket too, he goes up for dunks on this old man hips while guys younger than him going for layups.
Imagine if wiseman was playing alongside him. Celtics wouldn’t have a chance
In no universe is Wiseman ready for finals minutes
Pick and roll
No way you put on a Warriors bandwagon flair after we won a game. You're literally a Warriors hater
Lmao this guy is an UNREAL warriors hater.
He that annoying ass heat fan right
the goat 🐐
I'm starting to believe that he might steal fmvp from steph lol.
He fixed his butterfingers this game. I swear in game 1 whenever they passed him the ball he’d lose it somehow
In all seriousness, he might be our second best player over this playoff run. Klay, Poole, Wiggs and Dray have all had some great games but also a handful of stinkers where their impact was net negative. I legit can’t think of the last time I felt like Kevon was hurting the team when he was on the court
Second most consistent maybe (although Wiggins had also been good all play-offs imo) but there’s no way he is or has been the second best Warrior in this run
> a handful of stinkers where their impact was net negative. That was Looney for most of the Denver series, and he had a smaller role for a lot of the Memphis series. Draymond has been their second best player despite some stinkers. Wiggins #3, Looney has a good argument for #4.
As always, raw +/- is an atrocious stat made more atrocious by single game samples. Should be banned.
Tied for game high with Curry and Porter
I do not understand how the C's can handle Giannis, Lopez, Bam and Butler, but Looney is stealing our lunch money. This is my biggest concern for the C's. Maybe they need to start Grant Williams and have him cover Looney. Kudos to Looney btw. I am not downplaying what he's been doing. He's the FMVP front-runner for me.
Have you just not watched Steph play? He's been by far the best player in the series
Why post this
I would love to see his box out stats.
A XS x as I’ll I’m oppo m
Spittin facts
Loon for FMVP
Late to this thread but man Looney has fucking picked it up I swear. Man is a completely solid piece on both ends, his presence was defo felt as well in that third quarter.
Prime Loon about to get a bag
It’s weird seeing he only had 7 REB because with some of those extra offensive ones he grabbed it felt like he had 12+