Ex-Warriors champ stunned by Luka Dončić’s Lakers leadership: ‘Never did that before’

Kevon Looney knows what NBA championship pedigree looks like and has seen the leadership it takes to reach that level.

Looney (who signed a one-year, $3.9 million contract with the Lakers in July) spent the first 10 seasons of his NBA career with the Warriors. He won three NBA championships with Golden State and thrived under the leadership of superstar guard Steph Curry.

This is why it was awesome to hear how highly Looney spoke of Luka Dončić’s leadership after Dončić brought the Lakers’ roster to his home country of Slovenia last month.

“Man, I’ve been in the league for a while, and that [trip to Sloevnia] was my first time doing something like that. Going to somebody’s country, and bringing us out there, and spending that much time together. I never did that before,” Looney said of Dončić during a recent interview with ESPN Radio’s “Mason & Ireland” podcast.

“That just shows his character, shows that he really wants to win. He wants the people to know his background and why he is how he is. And I think he did a good job of that,” Looney added.

“He’s a great player and a great leader. He likes to show what he can do on the court, and then we got to see his personality off the court. So it was great. We’re going to follow him and run through a wall for him,” Looney concluded.

While the Lakers played a lot of basketball during that Slovenia trip, the focus seemed to be more on building camaraderie off the court.

And based on what Looney said, this appears to be where Dončić made the strongest impression.