Kevon Looney has largely played a complementary role for the Golden State Warriors to this point of his career, but he is expecting some expanded responsibilities now that the team has gotten a bit thinner.
In an interview with Anthony Slater of The Athletic that ran Thursday, the Warriors big man said that he anticipates shooting more threes next season.
“I think the makeup of our team this year is going to call for me to shoot more 3s,” said Looney. “I think last year, you know, we got KD, Steph, Draymond, Klay, you got four guys out there [as] capable shooters, you kind of need the big to be able to roll and finish. That’s kind of been my role. I expanded the mid-range jump shot, just to open the game up, make it easier for Steph, so he has some outlets. But I’ve really been working on the 3.
“[Head coach] Steve [Kerr] gave me the green light,” Looney added. “Well, he gave me the green light before, but this one feels a little different. Like, even if you miss, I want you to keep shooting because we need you to make that shot. I’ve always been confident in my shooting, being able to shoot the 3. But as a young guy on a championship team, you’re always looking over your shoulder, like, you don’t want to get subbed out. I always had that in the back of my head. This year, I’m a lot more confident.”
The 23-year-old Looney, who averaged 6.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season and was on two of the Warriors’ previous championship teams, signed a three-year, $15 million deal to return to Golden State this summer.
While he has only gone 5-for-26 (19.2 percent) on three-pointers in his NBA career, Looney did hit on 41.5 percent of his three-point attempts during his lone season in college at UCLA. Having Looney stretch the floor from the 5 spot would unlock a lot of potential for the post-Kevin Durant Warriors and add to the internal buzz about their offense next season.
