The alternative era of the Jin and Yuan dynasties, who only won 40 million in 10 years, but won three championships, and was regarded as a legend by Curry

This season, for the Warriors fans, the result was quite bitter. Although they completed a huge counterattack after getting Jimmy Butler on the trade deadline, they finally successfully reached the playoffs from the West and defeated the Rockets, the second in the West, in the first round, Stephen Curry's accidental injury ruined their good game. They were finally swept by the Timberwolves with a total score of 4:1 in the Western Conference semi-finals, ushering in a failed season again. And this time, they need to face many problems, such as Curry, Butler, and Draymond Green, who are core members, have begun to decline, and the departure of some veterans is likely to further weaken the team's lineup.

And the protagonist we are going to talk about today is one of the people who are about to leave this summer. He is Kevin Looney, who has played for the team for 10 seasons and helped the team win three championships. In this era when salary space is skyrocketing and players' salaries often exceed 30 million or 40 million, Looney is like an "alternative". In the past 10 years, he has only received a total salary of 40 million US dollars. But such a player with a meager salary and positioned as a blue-collar worker said tear-jerking goodbye to the fans when he bid farewell to the team. The fans of the Warriors were reluctant to leave him. Even Curry said in an interview that Looney is the legend of the team. Let’s walk into Looney’s story together and see what he has brought to this place during his 10 years of Golden State career!

1. The rear of the crane in the first round witnessed the team's glory.

Time went back to the summer of 2015. Looney was only 19 years old. As the leading inside player of UCLA, one of the traditional NCAA giants, Looney averaged 11.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in the freshman season that just ended. In March Crazy, he helped the school team reach the semi-finals of the semi-finals. At the same time, he also entered the Pac-12 division's best second team and the best freshman lineup. Judging from his college resume and honors, it seems that he should not be selected until the last place in the first round. But the helpless thing is that as an inside player, he does not have the ability to shoot mid-range shots, so he can only be positioned as a blue-collar worker. Moreover, before participating in the NBA draft, he accidentally suffered a buttock injury, which greatly reduced his draft pick. In fact, when he participated in the draft, Looney was invited to enter the Little Green House. It can only be said that by chance, he was picked up by the Warriors, which also led to the 10-year relationship between Looney and the team.

Although when he first joined, Looney could only spend most of his time in the Development League, as the defending champion, the overall lineup of the Warriors is already very mature, and Steve Cole is also famous for not liking to train newcomers. Therefore, Looney played only 5 games in the rookie season, averaging only 1.8 points and 2 rebounds. Moreover, he failed to play in the playoffs, so he could only watch the team that won the first record in history of 73 wins, and eventually became the background board for the Cavaliers to reverse the championship. The following year, the team got Kevin Durant, and since then "Cosmic Brave" officially set sail. Although Looney still has few chances to play, under the leadership of the "Tsunami Brothers", the team's suspense in most games can be concluded in only three quarters. Therefore, a lot of garbage time gave Looney the opportunity to play, and this season he handed in 2.5 points and 2.3 rebounds. Although he still failed to play in the playoffs, he also won a championship ring. While witnessing the team's glory, he slowly entered Cole's eyes. Perhaps few fans know that when training off the court, Looney can be said to be able to perform all her martial arts. Even if she is in a one-on-one single-handed fight with Durant, he can still be evenly matched with KD under certain circumstances. This touched Cole, and Looney's fate ushered in a turning point.

2. The trough has not left, and it has become a stable rotation on the bench.

By the 17-18 season, as Zaza Pachulia began to decline, Looney's playing time gradually increased. Of course, he did not disappoint the team's trust. He averaged 4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game in 66 appearances. Although the data was not that impressive, Looney was recognized by fans and the team after playing these data in 13.8 minutes, especially his sucking cakes and sash guards under the basket, which was very good. Therefore, in this year's playoffs, Looney finally entered the roster, followed the team all the way, and finally successfully completed the defending title. After the end of this season, Looney's contract is about to expire. Unexpectedly, he did not ask for too much and directly signed a three-year, $14.19 million contract extension with the team. According to a later interview, Looney said that he didn't care about his salary in the NBA. All he wanted was to do was to do everything for the Warriors and repay the Warriors' kindness for him as much as possible.

And we all know the story later. Although the Warriors reached the finals for the fifth consecutive year in the 18-19 season, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson were seriously injured one after another, and there was also a huge conflict between Durant and Green. In the end, they lost to the Raptors and failed to complete three consecutive championships. And what was even more painful was that with Durant and others leaving, the dynasty collapsed overnight. At that time, many teams asked Looney for the price. After all, in the 18-19 season, he could contribute 7.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1 assist in the playoffs, and was a qualified blue-collar worker. But Looney did not choose to leave, but insisted on staying behind the Warriors. This also touched the team's senior management. Although Looney also suffered an accident in the 19-20 season, he only played 20 games in total.. But the Warriors had no intention of sending him away, and after he returned, he was arranged as the team's main player. In the 20-21 season, Looney averaged 4.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Although the Warriors still failed to make the playoffs this year, the dawn was coming.

3. Burn out your own value and sing the final elegy.

21-22 season, Stephen Curry continued his hot state as the scoring champion last season, and Green once again made his second spring in his career. With the amazing progress of Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole, and the long-lost Clay returned to the court again, the once unstoppable Warriors are back. As the starter, Looney played all 82 games, and averaged 6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2 assists per game, which was also the best performance in his career. He also performed well in the playoffs. For example, in the series against the Grizzlies, he scored 4 points, 22 rebounds and 5 assists in a single game, and was teased by fans as "Ludmann". In the Western Conference Finals with the Mavericks, he even had a perfect performance of 21 points, 12 rebounds, 10 points and 18 rebounds in a single game. There is no doubt that the Warriors can win the championship again this year, and Looney's efforts cannot be ignored. What is even more touching is that after the end of this season, Looney, who instinctively won a larger contract with other teams, insisted on staying in Golden State, and the contract renewal was only $25.5 million for three years.

In fact, in the defending season, Looney performed well, averaged 7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, and all three data set a new career high. But helplessly, the team has been in a delicate atmosphere this year for a long time. Due to the conflict between Poole and Green and the team has also encountered injuries, although they barely made it to the playoffs, when they still couldn't escape the fate of being eliminated by the Lakers, they eventually failed to defend their title. In the past two seasons, Cole has begun to be a little extreme. The height and size of his core lineup are getting shorter and shorter, and the team's main players are beginning to grow old, so the team's record is constantly fluctuating. During this period, Kerr also began to target Looney, reducing his playing time. This season, he can only play for 15 minutes. Although he still contributes 4.5 points and 6.1 rebounds, he has almost no contribution to the playoffs. With the contract expiration, the team's intentions have become very obvious and they have no idea of ​​leaving Looney. After all, he will be 30 years old next season, and his abilities are indeed mediocre, and Looney has no complaints, only tears and memories of reluctance. After signing a new contract with the Pelicans, he also shed tears in the press conference and bid farewell to the wonderful memories of the past ten years. Of course, for Warriors fans, they will not forget Looney's contribution over the years. Even if his abilities are limited, he is a legend of the team!