Kevon Looney might not play again in this year's NBA Finals.
The Warriors center suffered a chest bruise in his team's 109-104 Game 2 victory over the Raptors on Sunday. The injury likely occurred when he made contact with Toronto's Kawhi Leonard on a drive to the basket.
Kevon Looney gets injured on a Kawhi Leonard drive pic.twitter.com/t6fiQvdgNK
— The Render (@TheRenderSports) June 3, 2019
An MRI on Monday revealed Looney had fractured his ribs, ruling him out of the NBA Finals "indefinitely," the team announced.
Klay Thompson & Kevon Looney injury update: pic.twitter.com/TTwO4rWEVU
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) June 4, 2019
According to a report from ESPN, there isn't much optimism for Looney's return in the series.
Further detail on Looney injury, per sources: non-displaced first costal cartilage fracture. There could be more evaluation, but there isn't great optimism on a return this season. DeMarcus Cousins' emergence in Game 2 looms even bigger for the Warriors. https://t.co/acW7PnWQzm
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 4, 2019
Looney logged 10 minutes in the first half of Game 2 and recorded one rebound in the contest.
He told I spoke with Kevon Looney on his way out. Will Looney play in Game 3? Looney: “That’s the plan. I’ll at least go out and try unless I wake up tomorrow and feel way worse. Otherwise, I think I’ll give it a shot.” Still, Looney admitted his chest “it hurts pretty bad right now.”
The 23-year-old played in a career-high 80 games in his fourth season with Golden State in 2018-19. He averaged 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game during the regular season and has been an impactful defender for the Warriors.
The two-time defending champions have already dealt with significant injuries to Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins during this year's playoff run.