Warriors big man fires back at illegal screen complaints

Jan 6, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Golden State Warriors center Kevon Looney (5) before their game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Kevon Looney clearly studied from the great Golden State Warriors bigs before him like … Andrew Bogut and Zaza Pachulia.

In an interview with Complex Sports that ran on Friday, the Warriors center Looney fired back at the complaints that he allegedly sets illegal screens.

“I find it funny,” Looney said of the criticism. “I feel like the refs call a lot of moving screens on me so I don’t think it’s true. If the refs don’t call it, then it is not a moving screen. So that’s how I look at it.

“I learned how to set screens some from some of the best,” Looney added. “They ain’t called it on them. So I think we’ve been doing it right over the last, you know, few years. So I think it’s funny though you know I take pride in my screen-setting. And sometimes you gotta move so it is what it is.”

Fans of the Los Angeles Lakers have often griped about Looney’s screen-setting in the current Lakers-Warriors series. Even Lakers guard Dennis Schroder has suggested that some Golden State players set illegal picks.

Dennis Schroder responded to Steve Kerr saying the Lakers "took some flops" during Game 5 against the Warriors.

"If they set illegal screens, sometimes you gotta show them that they are moving on the screen."

(via @AdinRoss/YouTube) pic.twitter.com/5KDnHbnTgE

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 10, 2023

Shall we say … strategic screen-setting has become an interesting art form of sorts for the Warriors’ bigs in the Steve Kerr era. They have been accused of setting dirty picks for years, often times off the ball to free up their shooters when the attention of the officials is focused on the on-ball action.

Looney’ defense essentially amounts to “ball don’t lie” though, arguing that no screen is illegal unless whistled as illegal by the referees. As such, Looney won’t change the way that he plays and will put the pressure on the officials to call him for any such violations intead.