How Loon gave Baldwin Jr. Bruising ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Warriors big man Kevon Looney is, well, big.
And rookie Patrick Baldwin Jr. was reminded of that fact the hard way during an on-court encounter he described as his very own “welcome to the NBA” moment.
Baldwin Jr. and fellow rookie Ryan Rollins joined 95.7 The Game’s “Damon and Ratto” show Thursday, where the Milwaukee product detailed the hilarious wake-up call.
“I think my first experience — and I’m sure Ryan has had to get through Kevon Looney screens a couple of times,” Baldwin Jr. said, to which Rollins agreed. “I’m guarding the wings and the guards and switching on the guards and then boom, you get hit with a Kevon Looney screen and it’s like a rock.
“So that was kind of my ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment just physicality-wise, but Kevon sets great screens.”
Stepping onto the court at 6-foot-9, 235 pounds, Looney’s size is the perfect example of what Baldwin Jr. can come to expect as he adjusts from playing college basketball to competing in the NBA.
While the rookie isn’t too far off from that height and weight himself, there is certainly an art to holding one’s ground against a defender that Looney has come to master.
As Baldwin Jr. noted, Looney is an exceptional screen setter — just one of many attributes that have helped him create shots for his Golden State teammates over the years and establish himself as a critical piece of the team’s success.
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The Warriors selected Baldwin Jr. and Rollins in the 2022 NBA Draft at Nos. 28 and 44, respectively.
And just as their young teammate James Wiseman is learning from Looney at center, the pair of rookies might be able to glean some information on how to become more rock-like on the court from their veteran counterpart.
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