12 charts explain Kevon Looney's transformation to becoming an offensive rebounding machine

The Warriors center bounced back from career-threatening injuries to become an integral piece of this championship contender

It sure looked as if Kevon Looney had played his final game with the Warriors when the 2016-17 season concluded. A hip injury dating to his UCLA days sidelined the second-year big man for the championship run and the former first-round pick was moving down the depth chart.

After shedding weight and opting to participate in Summer League, Looney played in 53 games and helped Golden State to a third title in four seasons. He started 24 games in 2018-19 and averaged a career-high 5.4 rebounds.

Then injuries struck again, this time in the form of nerve damage and abdominal soreness that required offseason surgery. At only 24, Looney had endured multiple career-threatening setbacks that limited his mobility and endurance. Again, it looked like the converted center’s time in the Bay Area had come to an end. Especially when Golden State selected center James Wiseman at No. 2 overall.

Two seasons later, Looney has established himself as one of the league’s best offensive rebounders, and is a fit for Golden State’s motion offense. He is tied with Draymond Green for the team lead in rebounds per game after Tuesday’s sensational comeback victory in San Antonio, when Looney collected at least six offensive rebounds for the third consecutive game. As for the injuries? Looney hasn’t missed a game all season, and Tuesday was the team’s 13th in 22 days.

Steve Kerr has never had this type of offensive rebounding force — a big man who can create so many second opportunities for the best shooters on the planet. And with Wiseman missing most of his first two seasons to injury, Looney’s interior presence has been integral to Golden State’s return to being a championship contender.

Looney’s rebounds have spiked with Draymond Green nursing a back injury since early January, a month in which Looney averaged 9.9 boards. A plot chart of Looney’s rebounds shows 23 of his 30 double-digit games coming over the past two seasons.

The tallest active player on the team at 6-foot-9 (along with Nemanja Bjelica), Looney has nearly 100 more offensive rebounds than the next teammate, and also leads in defensive rebounds. He’s led the team in rebounding in nine of the last 15 games.

Through Tuesday, Looney ranked 13th in the NBA in offensive rebounds (2.8), and tied for sixth in offensive rebounds per 36 minutes (4.9) among players with 500 minutes. He’s tied for 12th in rebounds per 36 (13.0) among players with 500 minutes.

Looney ranks 23rd in total rebounds this season, and a plot chart of the top 25 players shows Looney’s penchant for attacking the offensive glass. For instance, Looney has 26 more offensive rebounds than Nikola Jokic, but 250 fewer defensive rebounds than Jokic, the league’s second-ranked rebounder.

If you do enough filtering on stathead.com, there is a category in which Looney leads the league: rebounds per 36 minutes among players listed at 6-foot-9 or shorter and a minimum of 100 minutes played.

Looney has the most offensive rebounds in a game this season, pulling in 12 at home against the Timberwolves on November 10th. Game tape shows Looney tapping rebounds off the glass to himself for put-backs, kicking out to 3-point shooters and even swiping a teammate’s missed free throw.

When he’s not grabbing boards, Looney sets screens and feeds shooters in Kerr’s motion offense. Golden State has three players in the NBA’s top-10 of points off screens — league-leader Curry (4.9), No. 3 Klay Thompson (3.5) and No. 7 Jordan Poole (2.6). And it’s Looney creating the most buckets off screens by a wide margin, then often rolling to the basket to clean up any mess on the glass.

For a team loaded with scorers, players who can contribute without the ball are at a premium. Looney has the second-best offensive rating (113.9) — points produced per 100 possessions — on the Warriors to Stephen Curry (114.2), and leads the team in put-back points per game (1.5).

When the ball finds him, it’s not for long. Looney is second-to-last on the team averaging 0.6 drives per game and last in dribbles per touch (0.52).

Wiseman was drafted to be the center of the future at Chase Center. But the way Looney has played over the past few months, there might be competition.