Is Kevon Looney playing tonight against Lakers? | Latest injury update on Warriors star ahead of matchup (May 10, 2023)

With the stakes at an all-time high for the Golden State Warriors, many are wondering, 'Is Kevon Looney playing tonight?' against the LA Lakers.

Looney, who played a limited role in Game 2 on May 4 as the result of an illness, is not on the team's official injury report. Per NBA.com, which relays player status updates directly from teams, the team has three players on the report.

Although Looney played just 10 minutes in Game 4, the expectation is that he'll be playing in Game 5 as the Warriors look to stave off elimination.

Tune in for Game 5 on TNT as LeBron James and the LA Lakers look to advance to the Conference Finals.

Steve Kerr sang Kevon Looney’s praises early in the season

Early in the season, head coach Steve Kerr sang Looney’s praises. In addition to calling Looney a leader, he also dubbed him a foundational piece of the team. Looney reacted to the news during a press conference, saying:

“I definitely heard it. It means a lot for your coach to respect you that much and for your teammates to respect you,” Looney said. “That’s not just given, you have to earn that. For him to speak that highly of me, it shows all the work I’ve been doing not just on the court, but trying to develop myself as a man and continue to get better as a basketball player and as a human, taking those strides.”

The comments from Kerr show that the team believes in Kevin Looney. Although the comments came early on in the season, they indicate that Looney has the confidence of the Warriors’ staff behind him. With a big closeout game in Golden State, only time will tell whether Kerr plays Looney for 10-15 minutes like he has in recent games, or whether he’ll play upwards of 20 minutes.

Prior to his illness earlier in the week, Looney had been integral to the team’s success. In Game 1 against the Lakers, he recorded a massive 23 rebounds despite the team’s loss. As long as he’s healthy, expect him to get more minutes than he has in recent games.