Former UCLA standout forward Kevon Looney returns to the NBA's Western Conference Finals on Wednesday evening, as the Golden State Warriors will tip-off Game 1 against the Dallas Mavericks at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
Wednesday evening's Game 1 showdown will begin at 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET) and will be nationally televised on TNT.
Looney, a second-team All-Pac-12 selection at UCLA in 2014-15, helped the Warriors win NBA championships during his second and third seasons in the NBA – 2016-17 and 2017-18. This will mark the fifth time in which Looney has competed on a Warriors team that advanced to the Western Conference Finals (previously, in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019).
A 6-foot-9 forward from Milwaukee, Wis., Looney averaged 11.6 points and a team-leading 9.2 rebounds in all 36 games as a freshman at UCLA in 2014-15. He was selected No. 30 as the final first-round selection in the 2015 NBA Draft. Looney has played for Golden State through all of his seven NBA seasons.
Most recently, Looney totaled a career-best 22 rebounds as the Golden State defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 110-96, in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals. He finished that game with four points and five assists, in addition to his career-best 22 rebounds (11 offensive rebounds).
During the 2021-22 regular season, Looney was one of five NBA players to compete in all 82 regular-season games, along with Mikal Bridges (Phoenix Suns), Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks), Deni Avdija (Washington Wizards) and Saddiq Bey (Detroit Pistons). He finished the regular season with averages of 6.0 points and a career-best 7.3 rebounds per game.
Golden State secured the Western Conference's No. 3 seed with an overall record of 53-29. The Dallas Mavericks earned the No. 4 seed in the West, compiling a record of 52-30.
The winner of the best-of-seven game series, between Golden State and Dallas, will advance to the NBA Finals and could face either the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics (seeded No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the Eastern Conference).
In addition to Looney, former UCLA player Bob Myers serves as Golden State's President of Basketball Operations / General Manager. In his current role, Myers oversees the entire basketball operations department on a day-to-day basis. He was originally named the organization's GM on April 24, 2012.
Including Looney (in 2017 and 2018), UCLA's program has seen 22 former players help their NBA team win the NBA Finals 35 total times. Last season, Jrue Holiday played a key role in leading the Milwaukee Bucks to the 2021 NBA Championship. In all, at least one former UCLA player has led his NBA team to the NBA Finals 67 times.
Six former UCLA players have guided their respective teams to an NBA title at least twice – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Jamaal Wilkes (4), Willie Naulls (3), Jordan Farmar (2), Kevon Looney (2) and Bill Walton (2).
https://t.co/Pqxh2ExSNm - How Kevon Looney revamped his body and mind to play all 82 games for the 1st time as a pro
— NBA (@NBA) May 18, 2022
(via @MarkG_Medina)
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