Kevon Looney believes the new-look Lakers roster will benefit from the team-bonding experience of spending time with Luka Doncic in Slovenia, relays BasketNews. In a recent interview with ESPN LA (YouTube link), Looney called it a unique experience in his long NBA career.
“I’ve been in the league for a while and that’s my first time doing something like that,” he said. “Going to somebody’s home country, bringing all of us out there and spending that much time together, I never did that before. So that just shows his character, that he really wants to win. He wants people to know his background, why he is the way he is and I think he did a good job of that. He’s a great player and a great leader, and he likes to show what he can do on the court. And we got to see his personal life off the court, so we’re going to run through a wall for him.”
Looney, who was part of three championship teams with Golden State, is hoping to get back into title contention after spending last season in New Orleans. He signed a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract with L.A. in July and could be the main backup big man behind Walker Kessler.
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- Sandro Mamukelashviliwho reached a four-year deal with L.A. in free agency this summer, was also impressed by Doncic’s hospitality, per Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. “They showed us a lot of great places, and Ljubljana is a really, really nice city,” he said. “Plus, it was great for the new team. It was a bunch of new guys on the team, and you know, all of us being together, it didn’t even feel like it was a lot of new guys.”
- Playing without his father as a teammate for the first time in his NBA career, Bronny James talked to ESPN LA (Twitter video link) about what he’s worked to improve on during the offseason. “All across the board,” he said. “I’m trying to get better, playing with Luka and (Austin Reaves) still, so I’m gonna be off-ball when it’s needed. I need to be able to knock down shots and create for others, and I think I’ve been doing a good job with that this summer. I feel like I can be a secondary ballhandler to Luka and AR and generate whatever offense in catch-and-shoot, and pick-and-roll offense and stuff like that. So, you know, I just pride myself in being an all-around player, and whatever is needed, I’m up for.”
- In an interview posted to the Lakers’ Instagram accountDoncic is asked to provide one-word answers to a variety of questions. He chooses “patience” as his biggest strength on the court, jokingly calls Reaves “annoying” and describes the team as “happy.”