NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. WARRIORS

June 1, 2022

Kevon Looney

Golden State Warriors

Media Day

THE MODERATOR: First question for Kevon.

Q. You were on the 15-win team a couple years back. Jordan just called it a blessing in disguise for this squad. Would you characterize it the same way?

KEVON LOONEY: I wouldn't call it a blessing in disguise [smiling].

I wouldn't say it was needed, but you got to take on that challenge that come with that. I guess for guys like him, he was able to play a lot, get that experience, that game experience, was able to get a high pick out of it, get James. That's great for our future, our team.

That was a tough year for a lot of guys. I think we built on that, we took that, remembered those hard times. I think made making it here that much sweeter.

Q. What do you remember about Draymond from that season?

KEVON LOONEY: I think it was a struggle for everybody. He was frustrated. He was one of the only guys that was even healthy enough to play. He was doing his best job of leading that group. He's a winner, like the definition of a winner. I know for him to be losing like that was tough.

He still came into work every day, came in and practiced hard. He was tough on the young guys, on Jordan, other guys who he had to develop them. He was still a great leader. He still laid that foundation.

Even though we're losing, we're going to turn this thing around. He was a great leader during that time.

Q. You've seen so many versions of this team since you've been here. What do you think makes Bob Myers such a great and successful general manager?

KEVON LOONEY: I think his ability to not just get talent but just to get talent that fits not just our playing style but our culture of the locker room.

It's tough to do that sometimes, you know. Since I've been here, we always had guys that fit what we do on and off the court. I never had somebody on our team that we felt like was a bad teammate or he wasn't a great locker room guy.

I think Bob does a great job of knowing our team and knowing who will fit in, who won't. Sometimes a guy can be really talented but he still can come in, he just doesn’t fit in of what we do. I think they do a great job of finding guys that fit.

Adding a guy like Otto Porter, Belly, years past, adding a Varejao, a Jonas Jerebko, guys like that that might not be household names, a D-West that comes in, they fit our culture, embrace what we do.

Q. Everyone talks about the veterans with Steph, Klay, Draymond, et cetera. How rewarding and how advantageous is it to have guys like Leandro Barbosa, Zaza [Pachulia], Shaun Livingston still around you guys on a daily basis?

KEVON LOONEY: It's been great, having those guys there to be a part of the coaching staff, be in the front office. They just add that championship DNA. They still are an extension of the culture that we're trying to build, things like that.

They're great role models and great veterans for our young guys who are veterans that's playing now. They still can go talk to them, lean on. They've been great for us all year.

LB, he's even been playing a lot, being a scout team. He could probably still go out there and get some buckets if we needed them. Having guys like that with that much experience, a wealth of knowledge that you can go ask, talk to whenever you want, has been great for us and great for our young guys.

Q. Steph, Klay and Draymond, the three highest winning percentages in Playoff history. What do you think it says about the legacy and you're still building on this right now?

KEVON LOONEY: It just shows how special of a trio they are, that they were able to win under different circumstances, different teams, different eras, different styles of play.

When they first won it, the NBA was a lot different, its style of play was a lot different. For them, they kind of changed the game. Draymond, he just revolutionized the big man spot, got rid of the power 4 position kind of.

Them guys are the definition of winners. They're going to be remembered as winners. They're going to have their individual accolades, but I think they're mostly going to be remembered as being dominant, winning, not even being highly touted. Not high draft picks, all of them. They're not All-Americans, things like that. But they came in and changed the NBA.

Q. Can you take me back to training camp or maybe the first offseason workout, what was your first impression of Kuminga? What do you think he has learned in this postseason run being thrown into the fire and wait his turn?

KEVON LOONEY: First playing with him, I learned that he was a freakish athlete. Sometimes they tell you a guy is athletic, but in the NBA everybody is athletic. But he's one of those different type of athletes where you talk about guys like the best athletes in the NBA, Andre at his peak, his athleticism, guys like LeBron. He's had that type of athleticism. You could see that very fast.

For him to be that young, to be that strong, I was actually kind of shocked about his feel for the game. I thought a young guy, he was going to come in, be wild, gunning, shooting shots. He actually had a great feel and great IQ for the game. That kind of surprised me.

This postseason, you know, it's been up and down. Steve likes to give everybody an opportunity. He uses different guys for different series. For some guys that can be tough, I think he's just learning the ways of the NBA, being ready when you're called on. He's going to have a bright future in this league. He's going to be a cornerstone for this team.

He's just been learning how to wait his turn. When his number is called, come in and make an impact. He's a guy we can rely on. Proud of his progress throughout the year. From Game 1 until now I think he's made a tremendous jump.