Kevon Looney broke a four-year three-pointer drought

The world has changed dramatically between Kevon Looney’s two most recent threes.

Kevon Looney spent the summer remaking himself as a player, reportedly taking 500 threes a day during the summer. Sunday night, all that outside shooting work finally paid off for the Golden State Warriors center.

Looney made a three-pointer for the first time in over four years in the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ blowout win over the San Antonio Spurs. The last time Looney hit a triple? March 19, 2021, against the Memphis Grizzlies.

It was a different game situation. Looney hit a three Sunday with just over three minutes left in the game. His three-pointer against Memphis happened just three minutes into that game. Then, Looney missed his last nine threes of the 2020-21 season.

Since then, Looney barely shot from outside the arc. He attempted just one triple each of the next three seasons, and his lone three-point try last season was a heave to beat the clock. This season, he finally cashed in on his fourth attempt from deep.

Overall, Looney is actually shooting worse this season. He’s shooting 55% from the free-throw line. Looney is shooting 51.4% from the field, though part of that is due to his higher volume and a few more bailout shots. He’s also taking almost three times as many shots from beyond 16 feet, though that’s an increase from 7 to 20.

Still, it’s a different world from when Looney hit his last three-pointer. Back in March of 2021, America was wild for “Raya and the Last Dragon”. Olivia Rodrigo topped the singles charts. Kyrie Irving, James Harden, and Kevin Durant had formed an unstoppable “Big Three” in Brooklyn. Measles was still uncommon. Governor Gavin Newsom’s voice didn’t yet sound like he’d gargled with gravel. Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy were still arguing about leftovers and whether a hand down guarantees that a man will also be down.

The Warriors probably won’t be running the elevator doors play for Looney anytime soon, and would prefer that he continue his dominant rebounding down low. But defenses may have to commit to paying attention to Looney out on the perimeter, or he might just make another three-pointer before 2029.