Kevon Looney returns to the Bay, where the former Warriors mainstay will not be forgotten

For a decade with the Golden State Warriors, Kevon Looney did his job in the shadows. On the sidelines of victories. In the crevices of defeats. In the murmurs on the bench and the calm of the locker room. He set screens and battled giants, anchored himself like a pillar in the locker room, directed his words and actions.

“You can feel invisible sometimes,” Looney said Athletics in July. “But I know what I bring to the table. I know how much it matters.”

That’s the problem with living in the shadows. Worth is obscured when living away from the spotlight.

Looney found himself constantly having to prove and re-prove his worth with Golden State. He thought he had proven enough. But the team that knew him best made Looney realize his value had expired. So last offseason, Looney took the money from New Orleans.

His tenure with the Warriors ended unceremoniously, quietly. He left the place he loved feeling forgotten, pushed aside.

“It (wasn’t) a moment,” Looney said after signing a two-year, $16 million contract with the Pelicans in June. “But like…in the playoffs, we’re playing Steven Adams, and that’s what I’m doing. And they weren’t giving me a chance to let me do what I’m doing. And it’s like, ‘All right, you don’t trust me. I thought you would trust me. You don’t think I’m that good anymore.'”

On Saturday, Golden State hosts the Pelicans and Looney returns home. Back to the place where he made his name. Back against the Warriors, the team for which he gave everything for 10 seasons and the franchise which should, ultimately, commemorate the three-time champion. Either way.

As a down payment on his future honor, Looney will be reminded that he can never be forgotten. Not here.

The Bay Area has not forgotten its beasts of burden. Local dynasties always feature beloved glue figures. Looney won’t be short of love when he returns to Chase Center. It seems like a poignant reminder of how the business of basketball doesn’t inherently ruin sentimentality.

But at 29, in his 11th season, Looney is working to prove his worth in a league obsessed with scorers, 3-point shooters and athletic wings. The Pelicans paid for his championship pedigree and professional approach, hoping it would influence their locker room (and their franchise star, Zion Williamson).

“I know what winning feels like,” he said in September. “I know what it takes every day, not just in the playoffs. That’s what I want to bring here: professionalism, discipline, consistency. I’m here to help our stars shine and make sure the little things are taken care of.”

Looney played in just nine of the Pelicans’ 19 games, starting six. He made only 9 of 26 shots, unable to find any rhythm in the chaos of the struggles. New Orleans’ season was derailed before Thanksgiving, firing head coach Willie Green, and the Pelicans own the worst record in the Western Conference (3-16).

Championship-aspiring teams welcome blue-collar workers who thrive in the little things. Their tenacity counts in high-leverage moments. Their contributions make the difference when the teams are mostly tied. The crushing screens, the clutch offensive rebounds, the extra passes – these sacrifices shine on the biggest stages.

But on a bottom feeder? Maybe Looney can prove his worth there, too. In the way he handles wasted and inconsistent minutes. In building winning habits. Talking to the young players who eventually need to get New Orleans out of this situation.

Looney emerged as a leader during the 2019-20 season. After Kevin Durant left the Warriors and Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were injured, Looney became a veteran voice. The Warriors went 15-50, and the way he handled that season elevated him in the Warriors ecosystem. Over the next three seasons, Looney would prove he could make an impact without taking 20 shots a night.

“I take a lot of pride in that stuff,” Looney said at Pelicans media day. “I pride myself on doing all the little things, all the hard work, all the hard things. The things that don’t always show up in the score. … Making an impact however I can, whether it’s rebounding, setting the screen, diving on the floor, whatever they need from me, I’m willing to sacrifice and go out there and do it.”

But who knows? Maybe a more competitive team will trade for him. Maybe the value he believes in will land him in a new home before the deadline.

Looney is an undersized center who doesn’t stretch the field. His handle and mid-range game are better than most think, but not enough to make it a feature of his team’s offense.

So what is the value of dirty work specialists? Leaders of high character? What room is there in this league for veterans and accomplished teammates?

Warriors fans will remember him joining James Harden on the road in Houston during the 2018 Western Conference Finals and holding his own. And playing with a broken chest in the 2019 final. And saving the 2022 playoffs with his rebound.

They could use him now for a defense that Draymond Green says lacks strength. For a locker room shared between stars and young people.

This is often the flaw in modern roster construction in today’s NBA. Teams are hungry to shoot and play, as they should. But the tough glue guys slip through the cracks and go unnoticed. Looney found himself at the short end of all free agency. This time, no offer came from the Warriors, who invested all their capital at the top of the roster.

Now he’s in New Orleans. They don’t need him to score. They need him to be himself. To stabilize and frame. Being physical and passing on the habits he absorbed in a dynasty.

A dynasty that will ensure that he is never forgotten. Not around here.

“I will always love the Warriors,” Looney said. “It’s family forever. I felt like maybe they forgot about me in the end. But that doesn’t erase everything we did together.”