Why Kevon Looney's warm welcome from Warriors, Dub Nation is richly deserved originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Selected by the Warriors in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft, No. 30 overall, Kevon Looney underwent surgeries on each hip, forcing him to do more watching than playing in his first two seasons. By his fourth season, when he played 80 games, making 24 starts, he was a parable.

In his seventh season, when he played all 82 games and was essential to Golden State’s 2022 NBA championship, Looney achieved cult status in Dub Nation. The appreciation came in the form of thunderous cheers – and the “Looooon” serenade – inside Chase Center, particularly when he was snagging offensive rebounds by the bushel.

So, naturally, “Loon” would receive the warmest of welcomes Saturday when introduced at Chase not as a member of the Warriors, but the opposing New Orleans Pelicans, where last summer he signed a free-agent contract.

“He’s been a fan favorite for a long time, so he’s going to get an amazing reception,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said shortly before tipoff.

“I think there’ll be a lot of love,” Looney said 45 minutes earlier. “They always treated me really well in the streets. Even with a new team, I still get a lot of love from Warriors fans across the country, across the world. They always come to me and give me a lot of support. I expect nothing less than that.”

Looney’s pregame appreciation video was followed by a standing ovation that went beyond a full minute. Richly deserved, for a variety of reasons. Some of the feeling is nostalgic, a sincere expression of gratitude for a man who overcame so much to be a force in the NBA. And some of it is very much in the moment.

Getting real, today’s Warriors miss Looney. The evidence is in the team statistics, the tenuous bridge between the veterans and the youngsters and the commentary Kerr.

“The offensive rebounding, and you’re seeing kind of a trend around the league,” Kerr said, referring to Looney’s specialty. “Saw it with Houston the other night [when the Warriors were minus-12 in that category]. Portland, it’s crash, crash, crash. Loon gave so much of that to us. The offensive boards, the extra possessions. It might have gone less noticed five or six years ago, when he was doing all that than it would be now. We recognize it and we miss some of that now.

“[But] it goes way beyond the court stuff. Just his locker-room presence, his maturity, the way he generated a professional atmosphere with the whole group. Just a remarkable teammate.”

When the Warriors did not offer Looney a contract last July, he signed a two-year deal with the Pelicans. Golden State’s farewell was New Orleans’ hello. Which is why facing the Warriors at Chase is not just another game.

“Man, I had this game circled,” Looney said before tipoff. “It’s one of the games I looked at as soon as the schedule came out, when I was coming back here. It was really exciting to see everybody again, play for the Warriors fans again. It’s always a lot of fun. I got a little bit more anxiety for a regular-season game than normal. A lot of little jitters, but I’m excited.”

It was with the Warriors that Looney won three championship rings. Evolved from a player whose career was threatened by an unforgiving body – many wondered if it could withstand the rigors of the league – to one who appeared in 290 consecutive games to an NBA career now in its 11th season. 

Looney, 29, still hears the roar of the crowd at old Oracle Arena in Oakland, still hears former teammate Andre Iguodala’s voice of discipline and discretion regarding foods to accept and reject for the sake of health and conditioning.

Looney cleared every obstacle did what it took to contribute to a quality team, in and out of the locker room. He cleared every obstacle, even neuropathy, to give his heart and soul to his team.

“I’d just like to be remembered being a tough guy,” Looney said. “A guy that showed up every night. A guy that brought his hard hat every night. A guy that never complained about anything. Whatever I was asked to do, I went out there and tried to do is my best ability. That’s kind of how I want to be remembered.

“When I came to the league, I was injured. I wasn’t able to really be there for the team. I wanted to kind of change that narrative. I did a good job of that.”

Good? No, during his time as a Warrior, he aced it.

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