What Kevon Looney is most proud of from 10-year NBA tenure with Warriors
Kevon Looney has a lot to be proud of from his time with the Warriors. Perhaps most importantly: Three NBA championship rings.
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While the 6-foot-9 center never produced eye-popping numbers throughout his 10-year career with Golden State, he played a pivotal role as a reliable big, both in the starting lineup and off the bench, while also establishing himself as a veteran leader in the Warriors' locker room.
Looney's role, and the overwhelming respect he garnered throughout the organization, did not come easy, as he outlined in a heartfelt letter to the Warriors and Dub Nation in a Players' Tribune article posted on Sunday after he agreed to sign a two-year, $16 million free-agent contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.
'In looking back on everything on my way out, I think the thing I'm most proud of when it comes to my time with the Warriors is the fact that I earned everything that came to me as a player,' Looney wrote.
'No one gave me anything. I worked for everything. I earned my stripes.'
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Looney earned a lot of praise for how reliable and poised he was in the biggest moments, and after he was selected by the Warriors in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft, with Golden State's dynastic run just beginning, there were plenty of big moments to follow.
'And I'm not gonna lie: It was scary sometimes,' Looney shared. 'I didn't always know how things were gonna turn out. I'd look up, and I'm out there on an island with James Harden, and it was just like … go figure it out. But my coaches and teammates, they all trusted me to come through. Make or break.
'And I didn't break. I'll always be proud of that.'
While Looney's role as one of the Warriors' veteran leaders never wavered, his spot in the starting lineup, and coach Steve Kerr's rotations, certainly did over the years, which was not an easy pill for Looney to swallow.
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'I had to earn that support, of course. And the journey, that winding path I took over the years, it honestly wasn't easy,' Looney added. 'Getting benched. Guys getting drafted and taking your minutes. Lineup changes. Falling out of the rotation sometimes. None of that is fun. But when you're part of a culture where everything is about winning, and you've seen vets sacrifice in previous years, that mindset kind of takes hold.
'So, yeah, sure, if I'm being honest, I got frustrated sometimes, or was feeling bad, but … I'd just keep all that at home, and then come to work each day ready to help us win.'
Looney's unwavering commitment to the Warriors did not go unnoticed, and for that, he forever will hold a special place in the hearts of those within the organization and Dub Nation.
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