2026-27 projection
| GP | MPG | FG% (FGA) | FT% (FTA) | 3PM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58 | 14 | .550 (2.8) | .700 (0.8) | 0.0 | 3.6 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
- Healthy-night role: 14 minutes, all at center.
- 9-category: Deep-league rebound streamer; low scoring and no threes keep him outside normal drafts.
- Points leagues: Handcuff-level value in formats that reward offensive rebounds.
- Dynasty: No meaningful long-horizon premium; contender depth only.
Projection logic
Looney appeared in only 21 games in 2025-26 and averaged 2.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 14.6 minutes. His .417 field-goal mark was noisy at tiny volume, so the projection normalizes toward his established finishing efficiency while keeping the same modest workload and broad rebounding shape. Walker Kessler is the clear starter; Sandro Mamukelashvili absorbs the other four center minutes in the desk's healthy rotation. ESPN player statistics
Looney missed time after an October 2025 left-knee injury and later dealt with heel issues. The Lakers' signing release did not identify an active restriction, but 58 games is a more responsible median than a full health reset. NBA knee report · Lakers signing release
Redraft, dynasty, and scenarios
- Median: Useful rebounding in 14 minutes, with almost no category volume elsewhere.
- Ceiling: Kessler misses time and Looney reaches 24 minutes, becoming a 9-10 rebound streamer with helpful FG% and assists for a center.
- Floor: Heel or knee management and small-ball lineups make him a situational DNP.
- Draft stance: Do not draft in standard leagues; add for starts or four-game streaming weeks.
- Dynasty: Hold only in very deep center-premium leagues.
Confidence
- Roster/role: High — official signing and clear backup-center function.
- Minutes/rates: Medium-high — the role is familiar and low variance when active.
- Availability: Low — knee and heel issues limited him to 21 games last season.
Sources
Career record
Pre-NBA: UCLA, one season (2014-15): started all 36 games, 11.6 PTS, 9.2 REB (team high), 1.4 AST, 0.9 BLK on .470 FG% / .415 3PT%; 15 double-doubles (most by any freshman nationally), second-team All-Pac-12, Pac-12 All-Freshman. Draft: 2015, Round 1, Pick 30, Golden State Warriors.
| Season | Age | Team | GP | MPG | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG% | FT% | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 19 | GSW | 5 | 4.2 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | .571 | — | 0.4 |
| 2016-17 | 20 | GSW | 53 | 8.4 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | .523 | .618 | 0.3 |
| 2017-18 | 21 | GSW | 66 | 13.8 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.0 | .580 | .545 | 0.5 |
| 2018-19 | 22 | GSW | 80 | 18.5 | 6.3 | 5.2 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.0 | .625 | .619 | 0.6 |
| 2019-20 | 23 | GSW | 20 | 13.1 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | .367 | .750 | 0.6 |
| 2020-21 | 24 | GSW | 61 | 19.0 | 4.1 | 5.3 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | .548 | .646 | 0.6 |
| 2021-22 | 25 | GSW | 82 | 21.1 | 6.0 | 7.3 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.0 | .571 | .600 | 0.8 |
| 2022-23 | 26 | GSW | 82 | 23.9 | 7.0 | 9.3 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.0 | .630 | .606 | 0.5 |
| 2023-24 | 27 | GSW | 74 | 16.1 | 4.5 | 5.7 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | .597 | .675 | 0.7 |
| 2024-25 | 28 | GSW | 76 | 15.0 | 4.5 | 6.1 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | .514 | .566 | 0.5 |
| 2025-26 | 29 | NOP | 21 | 14.6 | 2.8 | 5.6 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | .417 | .700 | 0.4 |
| Career | — | — | 620 | 17.1 | 4.9 | 5.7 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | .570 | .610 | 0.6 |
Durability: The shape is bimodal. Early career was wrecked by bilateral hip surgeries (5 games as a rookie, 53 in year two) and a 20-game 2019-20 (neuropathy, hip). Then a genuinely iron stretch: 82, 82, 74, 76 from 2021-22 to 2024-25, including 82 twice. The 2025-26 collapse to 21 games (October left-knee injury, then heel trouble) is the current question mark.
Trajectory: An 11-year, three-ring Warriors career built on screening, offensive rebounding, and connective passing — the 2022-23 peak (9.3 REB, 2.5 AST in 24 minutes) shows exactly what his fantasy ceiling looks like when the minutes exist. The 2025-26 New Orleans season was a lost year. In 2026-27 he is the Lakers' backup center behind Walker Kessler, competing with Mamukelashvili for the leftover minutes. He becomes fantasy-relevant only when Kessler sits: at 22-24 MPG the career record supports a 9-10 rebound, high-FG%, low-TO streamer, and nothing else.
Career sources: ESPN career stats · StatMuse career by season · Sports-Reference UCLA page · Wikipedia
Open questions
- Are the knee and heel problems fully resolved entering camp?
- Will Redick use Looney or Mamukelashvili as the primary replacement starter if Kessler sits?