Kevon Looney Sends Heartfelt Message to Warriors

This will be the first time in Looney's NBA career that he is not a member of the Golden State Warriors, but he is certainly cherishing his time with the storied franchise. After his departure in free agency, Looney sent a long, heartwarming message to the Warriors on The Players' Tribune, titled "Thank You, Bay Areaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa."

"Whew, this is not gonna be easy. I honestly don’t even know where to start. It’s like…. How do you say goodbye to a place that practically raised you in a lot of ways? A place that saw you go from a boy to a man? A place where you’ve made so many lifelong friends and experienced some of the best times imaginable?" Looney started.

"I have so much to be grateful and appreciative for over the past 10 years. This place, it’s truly changed my life forever. In some ways, I feel like I’ve been in the Bay so long that lots of people kinda forget that back when I got drafted by the Warriors, I was barely out of high school. Still just a kid, 19 years old. And looking back on that time now, I was pretty much the luckiest man in the world … when you think about what I walked into," Looney continued.

Looney goes on to talk about the incredible atmosphere of Oracle Arena, the ups and downs of his early career with Golden State, his relationship with Steve Kerr, and much more. One thing is clear, however: Looney will always cherish his time with the Warriors.

"Throughout my 10 years with Golden State, there was never a second when I wanted to be anything other than a Warrior," Looney said. "...I knew full well that nothing anywhere else could ever top what I was experiencing as a Warrior. And a lot of that feeling was about everything off the court, about the people in the Bay Area. So I’m beyond grateful to everyone who made my time there so special."

"I hope you all know. Truly. Everyone in the Bay, and Warriors fans around the world," Looney concluded. "Because these past 10 years have been more than I ever could have dreamed of... Not every ending has gotta be a sad ending. I’m leaving the Bay with a huge smile on my face. Thank you for the ride."