NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS: WARRIORS VS GRIZZLIES

May 13, 2022

Kevon Looney

Golden State Warriors

Game 6: Postgame

Golden State Warriors 110, Memphis Grizzlies 96.

Q. Last time you can remember getting 20, in a game?

KEVON LOONEY: Hasn't been since college. I got close a couple times this year, but it's been a long time since I got 20. Great achievement for me. Especially I take pride in being a rebounder, so getting 20 was something for me.

Q. Did you know you had 11 already in the first quarter?

KEVON LOONEY: I didn't know until Wiggs brought it up. "Like, you got 11 rebounds already?"

I wasn't even paying attention. I just wanted to, you know, go after every board. Especially in the beginning of the game, I wanted to set the tone that it was going to be physical. That was my goal at the start of the game, so I got off to a good start.

Q. Mike Brown said that Draymond and Steph requested you in the starting lineup and they wanted you in there. Did they tell you that, and what does that mean to you that those guys are the ones that said they wanted Loon in the starting lineup?

KEVON LOONEY: That means a lot, you know, when your teammates want you out on the court with them. I've been playing with them the last few years and for them to trust me in these moments is big for me.

You know, my our first couple years, I couldn't even get on the court. It's come to this point where they want me to be starting with them is a great accomplishment. I feel like I earned it, earned my respect, and it feels good.

Q. 70 rebounds overall, 25 on the offensive glass. What goes into getting that big of a number off the boards?

KEVON LOONEY: Just a group effort. You know, at the last game, we really got embarrassed. We really got pushed around and got bullied on the boards, and we wanted to set the tone and as a team and as a group.

We all did a great job coming back in, the guards, Klay I think had maybe nine or ten rebounds, maybe ten, and Draymond did a great job, Wiggs, Steph, JP when he was in there. We just wanted to take it -- we got embarrassed the last game. Just wanted to come out and set the tone. We got a lot of offensive rebounds early and once you set the tone from the beginning it kind of goes your way and it's kind of what happened.

Q. What was it like to have such a heavy workload and what was the key continuing to push through as the game went on?

KEVON LOONEY: You know, just you live for games like this, and for moments like that to be in the Game 6 to close it out at home, the crowd is going crazy, so you don't even think about how tired you are. You just push through it. We've got Steph and Draymond, they are pushing the ball, so you've got to go out there and play. You know, that's probably the most minutes I've played in a long time and it's definitely straight through like this. I got a little tired but I was able to push through, keep playing my role, doing my job and making plays.

Q. Mike said during that 17 minute stretch, he was yelling at you, like an on. What was that frantic fourth like for you I'm sure you were exhausted but also getting a bunch of rebounds?

KEVON LOONEY: I didn't realize I played the whole quarter towards the end. I got a little tired but you know, something I just push through.

When the game, the crowd is hyped up and the adrenaline is going, you don't even think about it. You just go out there playing hard, making plays. My teammates are supporting me, got me hyped up and we just having a lot of fun out there playing. I didn't even think about being tired or how many minutes I was playing. I was just having fun.

Q. You've been around Klay Thompson for so long and you know him well. What is it like to watch him have this moment in another Game 6 after what he's been through?

KEVON LOONEY: It's great. He lives up to his reputation. Whenever we need him in big games, he always shows up. After being out for two years and to have a game like this and close the team out that's that good and take us to the Western Conference Finals, that's big for him, for our team and for this organization. Klay set the tone for us today and kind of followed his lead, when things got slow or static, he carried us. We did not expect nothing different from Klay. We was all excited to see Game 6 Klay show up, and did he it.

Q. It was only two years ago that you were dealing with some pretty serious health issues that I know had you questioning things, I know it had a lot of people around you wondering if you would ever get back to this point. Thinking back on that and where you are right now, how do you feel just knowing that you got from there to here?

KEVON LOONEY: It feels great. All that hard work and determination and the prayers, the stuff that -- all the hell I put my body through to get here is paying off. That's the best feeling in the world when you work hard and you request something and you pray about it and it actually comes true and makes you feel good about yourself.

There was times when things weren't looking good for me and I didn't have any doubt but people around me might have did. Kept working and stayed the course and it's been the model of my whole year, just stay the course and figure things out, and you know, to have moments like these is big. Want to make more moments and make more memories.