Looney relishes mentoring Warriors youngsters Kuminga, Jackson-Davis

Looney relishes mentoring Warriors youngsters Kuminga, Jackson-Davis originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Kevon Looney‘s minutes have dwindled during the 2023-24 NBA season, but his impact on the Warriors remains.

During an interview on the most recent “Dubs Talk,” Looney revealed to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole that mentoring Golden State youngsters like Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis is a great source of pride for him.

“I feel like that’s a big part of my role,” Looney told Poole about serving as a resource for Kuminga and Jackson-Davis. “We can’t win without those guys. Them guys have been big game-changers for the whole season.

“As soon as they started playing well, our team started playing well. My job is to go out there to make sure that they see the game how our team wants [it] to be seen.”

Looney is in his ninth NBA season and has won three championships alongside the fabled Big Three of Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.

The veteran big man explained how these ties to Golden State’s glory years allow him to serve as a middleman of sorts between the generational core and the up-and-coming youngsters.

“Also they’ll have questions, comments or grievances, I’ll hear them out, talk them through it,” Looney revealed. “Give the message to Steph [Curry], give the message to Draymond [Green] like, ‘Aye, man. We got to get our young guys going.’ Just try to be that middle man and make sure everything is flowing all right.

“I feel like Draymond, he’s a leader, he’s got a lot on his plate. Steph has a lot on his plate, and so my job is to make sure all the small things — the grievances, the decision-making — making sure everybody feels comfortable and that we’re performing at a high level. That’s my job, to make sure everything goes smooth.”

Looney averaged 23.9 minutes per game during the 2022-23 NBA season, starting 70 of the Warriors’ 82 regular-season games. This season, Looney’s minutes per game has dropped to 16.9 while only starting half of Golden State’s games.

The glass-eating center also saw his remarkable consecutive games played streak snapped last month, after appearing in 290 consecutive contests dating back to March 2021.

Despite his reduced role, Looney remains engaged as ever, determined to do whatever he can to help the Warriors find success.

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