Golden State Warriors stars and Stephen Curry’s teammates, Kevon Looney and Klay Thompson recently arrived in Manila, Philippines, as the country hosts the FIBA World Cup 2023. The two players previously toured China and are now here in Manila as part of the ANTA Squad Asia Tour. During an interactive session with the media and the fans, Looney’s answer about honing his rebounding skills bore much resemblance to the Chicago Bulls’ rebound legend, Dennis Rodman.
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Kevon Looney has emerged as a great rebounder in the modern era of basketball. In his eight seasons playing for the Warriors, Looney averaged 5.6 rebounds per game. His performance against the Boston Celtics, especially in Game 2 and Game 3 of the 2022 NBA Finals immensely contributed to the Dubs winning the ring that year. Given Looney’s rebounding skills and talents, it does resemble the prowess of Dennis Rodman for the Bulls.
Kevon Looney reveals his secret for being an excellent rebounder
Kevon Looney has been turning heads with his performances in the past couple of seasons in the NBA. Since becoming a regular rotation player for the Warriors in 2017, Looney has contributed to the Warriors winning three titles over the years.
After transitioning as a center from a power forward, Looney unlocked great rebounding skills which he continues to hone to this day. In a clip posted by Naveen Ganglani from the media interaction at Manila, Looney revealed the secrets to being a great rebounder and said,
“It takes a lot of effort. You gotta be within this. You gotta know your shooter, know your teammates. You gotta know your offense. That kind of goes long ways. Takes a lot of time, something that, it’s kind of hard to practice sometimes but you gotta figure out what makes you a great rebounder, what makes you special, the physical attributes that you use. I am not the best leaper, but I know to use my body, my arms. I got some of the best shooters in the world, so I know how they’re gonna miss, I know where the ball’s gonna be in. I study and watch them shoot after practice and learning about them and try to carry over to the court. And that’s kind of an experience as a rebounder.”
Looney’s statement very well reminds us of Dennis Rodman’s approach toward becoming the best rebounder in his prime. Rodman’s former teammate Isiah Thomas once noted how the ‘Worm’ would stand aside and count the rotations on the basketball of his teammates.
At the peak of his career, Rodman knew the rotations of every player on his team. The Worm could even determine the specifics of where the ball would bounce and would be present right there to gather the rebound and help his team in offense.
Dennis Rodman was indeed one of the greatest rebounders before his fall from grace after leaving the Chicago Bulls. The Worm had won seven straight rebounding titles from 1991 to 1997, and was the only player to average 16 rebounds per game, five times since 1979. Rodman’s incredible prowess and talents made him a better rebounder than even Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard.
Kevon Looney’s position at the Warriors might be compromised by Chris Paul’s addition
Kevon Looney has proved himself to be an excellent rotation and bench player for the Warriors over the past few seasons. Looney’s skills help the Dubs clutch a game with his excellent and on-point rebounding skills. However, with the latest addition of Chris Paul to the roster, Looney’s position might now be under threat.
We can always expect Stephen Curry to be a starter, alongside Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. However, with Chris Paul’s addition, there will be an immense tussle between Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney to gain a spot.
If Looney were put in the reserves, Green would have to play defensively, which would mean the labor of playing as a center would fall upon him. However, Paul’s addition to the team is a positive sign, given it might make the Warriors more explosive and efficient in offense.
