Steve Kerr has been lauded throughout his decades-long NBA tenure for his emotional intelligence. Bob Myers is one of the most well respected head decision-makers in basketball, notorious for his ability to relate to players on a personal level. Stephen Curry might be the best leader in all of sports, and the Golden State Warriors coaxed Andre Iguodala out of retirement for one more season mostly due to his palpable influence on team chemistry and individual development.
The defending champions leaned on those organization power brokers—not to mention Jordan Poole, of course—while deciding the terms of Draymond Green's return to the team. It was a truly collaborative effort for the Warriors. One player's voice, however, loomed especially large in those discussions, surely a major surprise to those who still don't realize just how vital Kevon Looney's presence has become in Golden State.
“Loon is incredible. This guy has so much wisdom. He’s so quiet, that if you don’t pay attention you may not realize he has become the moral compass of our team,” Kerr said on Tuesday night while announcing Green's return. “He's a special human being. Special. He was a key instrument in [everything we've had going the last week to try to get things back on track. I’ll ride with Loon forever. He’s a special man.”
Looney signed a three-year, $22.5 million deal with the Warriors in free agency this summer, fully capitalizing on playing the best basketball of his career during Golden's title run.
The Warriors' hard-fought second-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies ended after Looney was reinserted to the starting lineup for Game 6, grabbing 22 rebounds—half of them on the offensive glass. He fared well a round later when switched onto Luka Doncic, rarely getting roasted off the bounce. It was Looney who helped right the ship as a struggling Green went to the bench late in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, ensuring Golden State tied the Boston Celtics 2-2—and didn't waste Curry's instant-classic performance on a loss.
It's clear by now, though, that Looney's impact on the Warriors extends far beyond the court, a reality the fabric of this team encourages him to embrace.
“Since I’ve been here, we’ve had things go on and we had great veterans, they all came to talk to everybody,” Looney said, per Shayna Rubin of Bay Area News Group. “Everybody was able to get their opinion. When you give your opinion, you feel like you matter. Like you’re a part of something. “And that’s my job is to go around and make sure that everybody knows what’s going on and get a pulse on the locker room. Not be the voice for them, but speak up for the guys who have an opinion but don’t feel comfortable yet. I’ll be the guy that says, ‘OK, if that’s how you feel, I can go talk to them if you want me to do it.'”
Specific details on the conversations that led to Green's return are likely to remain sparse. But rest assured that Looney, close friends with Poole, his fellow Milwaukee native, will continue to play a major role in Golden State's healing process throughout 2022-23.
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