SAN FRANCISCO — With the Golden State Warriors up eight, and just over three minutes remaining, the desperation of Oklahoma City was picking up. Thunder wing Jalen Williams went on the attack, since Gary Payton II blanketed the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Williams used a screen to get away from Andrew Wiggins and headed downhill toward the rim.
Kevon Looney stepped up to cover Williams, tracking OKC’s likely All-Star as he crossed over into the lane. When Williams tried to scoop in the layup, Looney was still there and swatted it out of bounds.
Chase Center erupted with a roar those walls hadn’t felt in a while. Golden State home games have flaunted museum energy most of this season as the Warriors tumbled down the standings.
But Wednesday night — as was the case often during the championship years, even when legends filled the marquee — the little things, the effort plays, the unsung heroes, proved as rousing as 3-point splashes. Looney’s block sparked a frenzy that felt like an old Warriors crowd. So aware. So appreciative. So raucous. Looney felt it.
“They hyped me up,” Looney said of the crowd. “I almost talked s— when I got the block. I don’t ever do that. It’s always awesome when the crowd is right behind you. When they’re showing you love. I’ve got my own little chant, so I know it’s for me. They show appreciation for when I’m doing all the small stuff. I ain’t doing all the crazy dunks and stuff like that. But they show me love for rebounding and doing what I do.”
If these are their last games as Warriors, their final days with the Bay’s team, Wednesday night was something to remember them by. A portrait to illustrate how hard it is to let them go.
Loon. Wiggs. GP2.
Champions. Professionals. Real ones.
The biggest win of the year was a signature performance by them. It nullified Gilgeous-Alexander’s 52-point spectacle. It defibrillated the Warriors’ season, powering a 116-109 win over the West’s best team. It ruffled up some nostalgia from the glory days trending towards the horizon.
The NBA trade deadline is a week away. Payton and Looney are both valuable expiring contacts, $9.1 million and $8 million respectively. Wiggins is a valuable player other teams would want. One of them, all of them, might find themselves being shipped away. Sacrificed on the altar of Steph Curry. When the Warriors were more top-heavy, they completed the championship puzzle with all the little things they do. Difference-makers who starred in their roles.
But now Curry needs a co-star. The Warriors need rejuvenation to maximize the remaining greatness of their face-of-franchise. So one or more of the most beloved glue guys, invaluable wild cards, may get traded.
Not a guarantee. But they’re NBA vets. They understand how trade season goes and the Warriors’ combination of needs and options. They’ve had the business of basketball knock on their door before.
Wednesday night at Chase Center, they were pivotal as the Warriors registered their biggest win of the season — beating the Thunder for the second time this season. On the second night of a back-to-back set. On a homestand they must maximize. With two of their best players shelved by injury (Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga). Against one of the favorites to win the title. The old reliables came through. The Warriors outscored Oklahoma City by 14 with Looney on the floor. Same with Wiggins. They were plus-12 in Payton’s minutes.
They haven’t consistently summoned these powers. But the win over OKC reminded everyone of the impact of their peaks, and how they live for the gauntlet of the postseason.
It was a declaration of their value. It was a plea for their retention.
“Yeah, I want to stay,” Looney declared after totaling 18 points and four blocks. “I know what the game is. I’ve been here long enough. My locker mate’s changed a lot of times. It might be my time. Who knows? That’s the NBA. I definitely will not be sleeping that night, whenever that time is for the trade deadline. I’m gonna be up.”
They don’t want to leave. They love it with Golden State. They’re interwoven into the essence of the roster. They’ve shaped the culture after the renovation of 2020. Arguably no one more than Looney.
His postseason resume includes playing an NBA Finals game with a fractured chest. Defended James Harden and Nikola Jokić. Gotten the better of Domantas Sabonis and Steven Adams. Took lumps from Anthony Davis.
Looney rode the bench on one of the greatest teams ever and on the franchise’s worst team. He’s perennially underpaid and overlooked. The moral compass, a forever good cop, a smiling enforcer.
How does a team excavate its own kidney?
“He’s the ultimate teammate,” second-year big Trayce Jackson-Davis said. “It’s his voice on the floor. It’s him helping guys, teaching guys. But then, some nights he’ll have 18 points or 16 rebounds or seven or eight assists. He just does it all. He’s the glue to our team. He’s a part of this core, and he’s been part of it for 10 years. You don’t just throw that away.”
The Warriors led by four, inside of two minutes remaining. A 33-footer by Curry on the previous possession reinvigorated OKC’s anybody-but-No. 30 defense. Curry dribbled off a couple of screens, crossing over repeatedly trying to find an angle. But as the shot clock dwindled, he was forced to make a decision. He dribbled right, drew two defenders before finding Wiggins in the right corner.
Catch and shoot. Drifting to his right. Defender flying at him. Cash. Wiggins’ umpteenth big bucket of the night pushed the Warriors’ lead to seven and punished the defense’s obsession with Curry.
“This is how we can play,” Wiggins said. “We’ve just got to stay consistent with it. That’s it. We’ve got to play like this every game on both sides of the floor.”
Wiggs keeps it going 💰 pic.twitter.com/pX77L11Naj
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 30, 2025
The Warriors play three games before the trade deadline. Winning them could vault them to four games over .500 for the first time in seven weeks.
Would that be enough to avoid a major move to shake up the core? Or do they look to add around the edges and see where this thing goes when fully healthy? Because if they get to the playoffs, they’ll have the stalwarts they can trust. Whose best work comes in matchups and moments.
Loon. Wiggs. GP2.
Gamers. Characters. Protagonists.
The last championship run, three years ago, they were so vital. None more than Wiggins, who reframed his whole career with his role in the 2022 title run.
The Warriors keep waiting for No. 22 to throw it back to ’22. He’s scored at least 20 points in six of his last nine games. Wiggins finished with 27 points, carrying the Warriors’ offense through cold spells as OKC blanketed Curry.
The Warriors are much more potent if Wiggins is a third option. But the real gem is his ability to defend in a league played on the perimeter. Luka Dončić. Anthony Edwards. LeBron James. Wiggins defends them all.
The Warriors don’t want to give up such a valuable commodity. Doing so would get them a better scorer than Wiggins. But Wiggins’ value to the Warriors is not measured by statistics. But how well he fits their system.
“Sometimes it can be disappointing if you want to stay,” Wiggins said of knowing his name is part of trade dialogue. “If you enjoy things somewhere. Your family is here. You got relationships. So it’s not easy. It’s a business.”
If the Warriors land Zach LaVine from Chicago or Jimmy Butler from Miami, it will be because they found the objectivity to trade Wiggins. He’s going to be wanted, only turns 30 in February and is on the books for $26.3 million this season — sizeable enough to eat up most of a potentially big salary coming in.
But it’s not an easy call. Wiggins is ingratiated now. He’s more a Warrior than a Timberwolf, though Minnesota got more years of service.
This is where Wiggins arrived. This is where he became a winner. This is where he found peace. Now he faces the prospect of losing it.
His performance against the league’s best defense simultaneously made his case to stay and raised his trade value. A betwixt.
“Being in the league long enough,” Wiggins said, “you know in the back of your head nothing is promised.”
Victories like these need a moment. Dramatic statements require punctuation.
The win was all but secured, even for a Warriors squad that blows leads like dandelions. Dennis Schröder dribbled at the top as the clock dipped toward a minute. Gilgeous-Alexander’s pressuring defense prompted Schröder to drive past him, which coaxed OKC to collapse the paint.
When it did, Payton cut to the basket. Schröder saw his teammate slash, even put a little sauce on the pass. And Payton took off. It had been a long time since Payton soared through the air like this.
“A couple years,” he said. “I haven’t been hunting it, but I know I haven’t been up there in a while.”
Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein tried to recover. But he became a 7-foot mountain for Payton to scale. He seemed to pause midair before a lefty tomahawk put Hartenstein on a proverbial poster.
OH MY GOODNESS GARY PAYTON II 🤯🤯
THROWS DOWN THE CRUNCHTIME POSTER SLAM!! pic.twitter.com/ndcUM1cvuJ
— NBA (@NBA) January 30, 2025
“To finish the game like that was special,” Curry said. “You just want to be able to have a stamp on a game like that. The crowd was going crazy. The whole bench was up. … Not to overemphasize one play but it was huge. It was a microcosm of the whole night.”
Payton on his game is unlike any other player in the league. He’s 6-foot-3 but packs the presence of a man six inches taller. His athleticism pops. His versatility fits. His feel on the court helps.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr still points to Payton’s return in the 2022 NBA Finals as the difference. He plays much bigger than his size and does most of his work off the ball. He’s got his father’s defensive instincts and feel for the game combined with his explosiveness. He’s a terror on defense.
“It’s hell,” Wiggins said of being guarded by Payton. “It is. He’s a helluva defender. He’s strong. His hands are crazy.”
Something about the personality of Payton. The way he carries himself. He’s easy to love, save for his history of injuries. It doesn’t just fit the Warriors culture, it bolsters it.
And this whole thing was built on the unification of joy and grit. The productive spirit of camaraderie and passion and fun mixed with the intensity of effort and defensive commitment.
How do the Warriors get back there? Having lost so much, how do they replenish and still keep their soul? It may not be possible. It may require removing a vital organ from the core. It may have to be done. Extraction is sometimes necessary to stimulate growth.
So if these are their last games as Warriors, their final days for a franchise they delivered glory, then beating OKC was their final gift. An encore to appreciate the privilege of their craft. A tribute to the trenches and the players who thrive in them. Perhaps one last Chase Center salute for key pieces who can’t be forgotten.
Loon. Wiggs. GP2.
Proven. Versatile. Warriors.
(Top photo of Kevon Looney during Wednesday night’s game against the Thunder: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images)
