Is Kevon Looney The Most Underrated Player In The NBA?
What do Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Kevon Looney all have in common?
Per Statmuse, all three have playoff games where they have put up more than 20 rebounds, 5 assists, and under 5 points. They are the only players in NBA history who have that stat line in the playoffs, with Looney leading the group with at three such games, and Wilt and Russell trailing with one a piece.
When discussing who are the best big men in the association, fans and talking heads alike bring up players like Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, and Anthony Davis due to their ability to put up big numbers on offense… But those conversations tend to discredit anyone who isn’t a scoring threat, like Looney: Someone who brings more value to his team than just scoring.
There is more to winning basketball than just scoring, which begs the question: Is Kevon Looney the most underrated player in the NBA?
“I think Loon is one of the best centers in the league. I really do. People don’t recognize it because he’s not dunking, shooting threes, and all that stuff, but this guy is a flat-out winner, he’s a machine. We wouldn’t be here without him” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr to the media after Game 7 of the Warriors’ first-round playoff matchup against the Sacramento Kings.
The main headline of Game 7 for the Warriors was one of the greatest of all time, Steph Curry, leading the way with an iconic 50-point game on the road in a hostile environment. While Steph had a historical performance, Looney needs just as much recognition for his own historical performance in the series and Game 7.
In the seven-game series, Looney averaged 30 minutes a game, 57% from the field, 15.1 rebounds, and 5.3 offensive rebounds per game.
He was not spectacular scoring the basketball, but that is not his role when you have the greatest shooting backcourt of all-time leading the way. He was stunning on the glass, grabbing offensive rebounds especially like a madman, and was a difference-maker in the series for the defending champions.
The Warriors emphasized the importance of rebounding the basketball in the series, and Looney was dominant all series long on the glass. He had three games during the first round of the playoffs (Games 3, 5, and 7) where he recorded more than 20 rebounds, tied for most in a series since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976.
Players are judged on how they perform on the biggest stage, when the lights are brightest, and it gets no more prominent than Game 7 in all professional sports.
Looney’s performance in the finale was the cherry on the cake to cap a phenomenal series. In 31 minutes of action, he shot four-for-five from the floor, recording 11 points, 21 total rebounds, and 11 offensive rebounds, all while changing the game's momentum and silencing the raucous Sacramento crowd in Golden 1 Center.
“When you’re doing all the hard work, pushing and shoving, getting hit with elbows and different things like that, all for that moment to be able to get extra possessions for your team, see them make a shot and change to momentum, it’s just a great feeling. I know it helps us win. I live for those moments, I like to do it, and it’s a lot of fun for me,” Kevon Looney said postgame on changing the contest's momentum via the offensive glass.
His impact on the Warriors’ first-round series was so valuable to their success; it just shows that scoring is not the only aspect that matters in the NBA. Golden State does not win the series against the Kings without Looney performing at a historical level. The craziest aspect of his game is that with the stellar production on the court, he is only the thirty-ninth highest-paid center in the NBA, averaging seven and a half million dollars as a base salary.
There are many aspects of his game, production on both ends of the court, role, durability, playmaking, basketball IQ and decision-making, and contract, that make Looney the most underrated player in the association.
“Where it started with Loon was dominating the glass. Once we dominated the glass, then it allowed us to show how good our defense has been, and it allowed us to set our offense and get good offensive possessions. We connected the game, and Kevon Looney was huge,” Warriors forward Draymond Green added in praise of his teammate.
His performance and durability during the regular season and playoffs have been valuable to the team’s success. It proves there is more to winning basketball than being an elite scoring player who puts up substantial stat lines daily.
(Photo credit: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)