Two players who helped bring the Larry O’Brien Trophy back to the Bay in 2022 are writing new chapters together in New Orleans, both under 30, both with something left to prove. And if you’re a Warriors
fan who remembers what Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole contributed to that championship run, you might find yourself checking Pelicans box scores more often than you’d expect.
Looney’s exit carried weight. Ten years of sacrifice, of setting endless screens, of battling through injuries. And in the end? He watched rookie Quinten Post take his minutes in the playoffs against Houston.
So he signed with New Orleans for two years and a reunion that Warriors fans should be invested in. Poole’s journey went darker. After averaging 17 points on 50.8% shooting and 39% from three in the 2022 playoffs he spent two years in Washington watching basketball die slowly. The Wizards won 30 combined games with Poole on the floor across two seasons. But last season, buried in that dysfunction, Poole still posted career-highs: 20.5 points and 1.3 steals per game. He dropped a career high 45 points against Cleveland. The talent never disappeared folks!
The Pelicans traded CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk, and a future second-rounder to extract him from Washington in the hopes that they can get some of that championship DNA.
“Once you experience that at the highest level, it’s a feeling you want to replicate again,” Poole said at media day.
Don’t forget that Looney and Poole weren’t role players on that 2022 championship team. They were essential fabric. Looney understood spacing, switching, and how to exist in basketball’s negative spaces where championships actually get won. Poole became the microwave scorer who could create separation when defenses locked down on Curry. Now they’re both playing alongside Zion Williamson, one of the most dominant offensive forces in the NBA when healthy.
“Good dude, great player,” Zion said about Poole. “Very vocal on the court. He’s going to provide a lot of spacing for me. For him to bring that championship experience here, I’m glad to have him here.”
That spacing is everything. Williamson operates best when the paint’s open, when help defenders respect shooters. Poole could be exactly what he needs to find more open lanes to the basket. And Looney brings defensive intelligence that understands team defense at the highest level, you know stuff like how to protect without fouling, how to switch without getting burned. You could say New Orleans needs exactly what he provides.
Championship experience isn’t about rings. It’s about knowing what matters in March and April, understanding how to prepare when stakes escalate, recognizing the difference between regular-season intensity and playoff desperation. Looney and Poole lived through Golden State’s championship culture at its peak. They watched Curry, Thompson, and Green navigate pressure with professionalism. They learned from Kerr’s system. They absorbed what winning actually requires.
New Orleans has talent in Zion, Dejounte Murray (although injured), Herbert Jones. What they’ve lacked is championship credibility, that organizational knowledge of how to not just make the playoffs but advance through them.
Warriors fans watched Looney sacrifice his body for championships, accepting whatever role the team needed. We watched Poole develop from a G-League project into a legitimate playoff weapon, hitting massive shots in Finals games. Their departures hurt because they felt unnecessary. But now they’re together again, chasing something meaningful, playing for a franchise that values them.
On nights when the Warriors aren’t playing, pull up that Pelicans game. Watch Looney set those familiar screens. Watch Poole create those familiar separation moves. Feel that championship DNA manifesting in different uniforms. Looney and Poole are writing their next chapters together in New Orleans. And if you remember what they meant to Golden State’s last championship, you’ll want to read every word.
