MILWAUKEE — For Kevon Looney, winning his third NBA title again validated all of his sweat equity.
"It was a long season, a long journey," Looney said. "You know, we were counted out kind of throughout the whole year. We got off to a great start, but we had like a rocky middle of the season, So for us to come together during the playoffs and get hot, get everybody back on the court, getting Klay back middle of the season, and all the young guys developing to be able to share that moment and make it back after not making the playoffs the last few years, was a special feeling."
Looney, a Milwaukee native, was drafted in 2015 after the Warriors won the first of four titles during this current run.
On draft night, Lance Allan did a satellite interview with Looney at the station. One of the crazy questions he asked was how on earth was Looney going to fit in with a championship team. He got three titles since then. He fit in pretty well. Allan asked Looney if that was pretty cool.
"It's definitely pretty cool," Looney says. "You know, coming into the league, I didn't know what to expect. And I didn't know if I was going to be able to find my role. And all the ups and downs in my career so far."
Will it be Looney's Warriors, versus his hometown Bucks for the title in 2023? All his family and friends, wonder.
"All the time I hear that!" Looney says. "You know, I thought we was on a collision course last year. You know, the year before that we didn't keep up our end of the bargain because we didn't make the playoffs. But hopefully one day it can happen. That would be an amazing feeling to play in the finals at home. I know how hard it is to get here. Get to the finals, and how hard it is to win a championship. And they know as well. So, you know that would be a dream come true to be able to play in the finals here and play against a player like Giannis and what they've been doing. You know, growing up, I didn't know...I never thought I'd see the Bucks win a championship so to see them do that and see them bring a parade to the city was amazing. So hopefully I get to play here and I'd probably be a villain if I stopped them from winning but I don't care."
Looney returns home to face the Bucks, on Tuesday, Dec.13th. An early Christmas gift.
