The Los Angeles Lakers may be trying to bring a former UCLA kid home. Veteran NBA big man Kevon Looney is on the Lakers’ radar in free agency, veteran NBA writer Marc Stein reported on Saturday.
What happened?
The Lakers need a backup center to the newly-acquired seven-footer Walker Kessler after trading Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards and letting Jaxson Hayes leave in free agency to the Utah Jazz.
Looney, 30, is perhaps the more interesting of those two names. For one, Looney already has quite the collection of hardware thanks to his memorable run with the Golden State Warriors from 2015-25.
Why it matters for Los Angeles Lakers
Over that span, Looney was a three-time NBA champion who became a cult hero in Golden State over the years due to his hustle and his hard work on the boards, which proved invaluable to countless Warriors playoff runs.
Despite standing a modest 6-foot-9, Looney was an unsung hero of those Golden State championship teams as the player who did all the dirty work and filled whatever role the Warriors asked of him.
Last summer though, Looney finally left Golden State in free agency to sign with the New Orleans Pelicans. He quickly fell out of the rotation for the lowly Pelicans though and averaged just 2.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per game over only 21 total appearances last season.
What comes next?
As for the Lakers, they are coming off a tough stretch, with their last result being a 110-115 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on 2026-05-12. Their recent form has been poor, with a record of 0W-0D-5L in their last 5 games.
| Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-12 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 110-115 |
The Lakers will be looking to turn their season around, and signing a veteran big man like Looney could be a step in the right direction. With Looney having played his one season of college ball at UCLA in 2014-15, a homecoming of sorts to L.A. might be fitting
