Over the weekend, a picture of a very chiseled Kevon Looney surfaced.
The 6’9 Golden State Warriors big man is focused.
“I’ve been doing a lot of work,” Kevon Looney tells Scoop B Radio of his chiseled frame.
“Going into this season a little different, expand my game and try to grow a little bit.”
Not only has the new-look Looney been focusing on his body, the big man’s goal is to have his play match on the court. “I’m going to shoot the ball a lot more,” said Looney.
“It’s something that I’ve been practicing for years, but now it’s time for me to shoot threes, shoot more midranges. 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 has a track record of sinking deep threes. We’d of course have to revert back to his college days to dig up that math.
For those keeping score at home: Looney shot 41.5% from three-point range during his lone season at UCLA. Also during that 2014-2015 season as a Bruin, Looney averaged 11.6 points and led the team with 9.2 rebounds per game, finishing with 15 double-doubles.
A three-time NBA Champion with the Warriors, Looney, has been with the team since he was drafted in 2015. Looney, 28, has become one of Steve Kerr’s most trusted veterans on and off the floor; he enjoyed the ride. “I think I’ve become a much better leader,” said Looney.
“I think I’m using my voice more and I think I can see the game better, you know? That’s the thing I feel that I’ve gotten a lot better at. My first couple years in the league I didn’t talk much, but as I become more of a veteran young guys start leaning on me more and I’m much better with my voice and my teammates can count on me more.”
The Golden State Warriors had a rough 2023-24 campaign. They missed the 2024 playoffs and the Dubs lost Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks in free agency.
Chris Paul also departed and found his way to the Lone Star State where CP3 will team up with Victor Wembanyama on the San Antonio Spurs.
Looney shares that he learned a lot from CP3 during his tenure with the Warriors. “He surprised me a lot,” he said.
“After competing against him for years, I respect him as a player and a basketball mind already but he was always our archrival — it was whatever the team he was on, it was always Chris Paul! So he got a lot of hate in our locker room for a long time. But by actually having him on our side and competing to win and going to war with him, he gained so much more respect from me, you know? He’s already a Hall of Fame player and just to learn from him and see his work ethic every day? You see how much he really loves the game of basketball, how much he cares about growing the game and how the game continues to carry on is just amazing. I learned a lot from him. I learned how to be more professional, how to take care of yourself… for him to be in Year 20 next year as a small guard and STILL competing at a high level as a starter and as a big time player, as a guy going into Year 10, I want to be able to play long time like him so I have to be able to see how he takes care of his body and how he watches the game and loves the game, seeing his thought process really changed mine too.”
Next month, the Warriors will return to Hawaii for training camp for the first time since 2007.
While there, they will tip off a six-game preseason schedule that will include a matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday October 5 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on the campus of the University of Hawaii in Honolulu.
Looney shares that he has has kept up with his Warriors teammates during the offseason. He watched Steph Curry dominate during the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France.
Million Dollar Question: Did Steph’s heroics in the Championship game surprise you?
“No,” said Looney with a smile.
“I was actually waiting for him to have his moment. You know it’s gonna come. He started off a little slow, you know? But when the games matter and it’s win or go home, he is always going to show up and put on a show and he did. So none of that was surprising and it was actually a lot of fun to see him being himself.”
Looney also watched as Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and others got a multitude of playing time under Steve Kerr’s Team USA system.
Subsequently, Jayson Tatum’s substitution patterns were a topic on Twitter and Tyrese Haliburton celebrated getting credit for a group project and participating minimally.
“I know as a player, it sucks,” said Looney.
“I know that they went out there to sacrifice and give minutes for our country and not seeing him get minutes sometimes is always gonna be tough especially dividing the talent and then who’s deserving to play but Steve’s all about winning; he’s going to do all the necessary things to win and he did win so… and when he makes a call like that and it actually works out, you kind of have to take it. He’s a coach that won as a player, a GM and as a head coach. So, you kind of have to respect his basketball knowledge; they have a lot of great minds over here. If he sees something on the court, he’s usually right.”
Looney’s also been keeping up with Draymond Green’s podcast, The Draymond Green Show.
The big man was a guest on the show back in June during the NBA Finals. Looney shares that he has no problems with his teammate speaking his mind and being himself. After all that’s what makes Draymond, well…himself.
“Draymond is Draymond,” said Looney.
“Anything that he’ll say on the podcast, he’ll say to you. So it’s not like he’s trying to do anything, he’s being himself. That’s what we expect from him. I like to hear him talk basketball and make critiques, but when I have something that I need to work on I can call Draymond for advice. So something on his podcast that he always does is not surprising anybody and he’s just being himself and that’s what we’re expecting him to do.”
