Draymond Green dropped 21 points, four rebounds, seven assists and four steals on 80% shooting in the Golden State Warriors' epic Game 5 win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, leading his team to a 3-2 lead in the most exciting series of the first round. Before addressing one of the finest performances of his decorated career, though, Green took some time on his eponymous podcast to shower Kevon Looney with Hall-of-Fame-level praise.
Looney hauled in 22 rebounds and doled out seven assists in Game 5, once again keying Golden State's tough, physical defense on Domantas Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox. A whopping seven of Looney boards came on offense, helping the Dubs to 18 second-chance points.
Draymond Green did it all for the Warriors in an epic Game 5 win over the Kings.
(via @ArmstrongWinter)https://t.co/Cjx9mL4LbZ
— Warriors Nation (@WarriorNationCP) April 27, 2023
On Thursday's episode of The Draymond Green Show, Looney's partner in crime up front couldn't help but fawn over his longtime teammate's performance, going so far as to compare him to a pair of NBA legends.
“Kevon Olujawon Bill Russell Looney,” Green said. “22 rebounds! Second time this series! 18.7 rebounds over the last three, 7.9 assists over the last three. Kevon Looney is playing some basketball, man. Kevon Looney is playing some basketball.”
Green came off the bench for the second straight game after being suspended for the Warriors' Game 3 win, replaced in the opening five by Jordan Poole and leaving Looney as Golden State's lone starting big man.
Knowing just how important cleaning the glass is versus Sabonis and the Kings, Green gave Looney some pre-tipoff encouragement, telling him to “get every rebound.” What Green didn't know is that Looney would take his words of motivation quite so literally, collecting 35.2% of available rebounds when he was on the floor in Game 5, per Basketball-Reference—his highest rate throughout 2022-23.
“Dude went and got every rebound. Every rebound,” Green said of Looney. “Making plays out of the pocket. Love to see it. Love to see a guy who's been threw so much doing what he's doing. It's been absolutely amazing.”
Kevon Olajuwon Bill Russell Looney is much more than a heartwarming story of perseverance through early-career injury and the Warriors attempting to replace him at starting center, though. Just like he did on last year's title run, Looney keeps proving himself as an indispensable cog for the Dubs' still-going dynasty.
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